Hetalia: The Fantasy Story
by Mitsuki Horenake
Summary: He was sent here on a mission...but what can he do when he can't even recall who he is?  What is his purpose?  What does he need to do?  Ah Romulus, you and your entrance seem to love them innuendoes.
1. A View by the Beach

**THAT'S RIGHT! Super-powered countries are coming back! Though…to keep the sanity down a few levels, I'll place this in a somewhat fantasy setting **_**(Tales of, what?)**_**. I DO NOT OWN HETALIA or the idea **_**(setting)**_** that you might be able to recognize. There will be Tales of references, but you don't need to know the game to get this particular fic.**

**By the way, this is going to be different from my other fanfics, cause this time I'm going to tell you the soundtrack I listen to while I write this! You can ignore the songs that are mentioned if you want to, I won't mind. Just for the heck of it, I guess. So have fun here!**

**OK, Prologue Chapter song is: "Flower Theme-Sadness of Satan-wanted" by the RomaHeta soundtrack. It's in one of the more famous RomaHeta videos, but if anyone wants to know, I can give you a YouTube Link.**

**/=WELCOME...=/**

_He felt himself floating in the air. Was he even floating? Was he even here? He couldn't even feel his fingers and arms…if he even had any. He did know that he felt massively cold, so he must have some form of touch on him. Would that mean that he's alive?_

"_**Are you ready?"**_

_Ready? For what?_

"_**For your journey. You're just getting started…"**_

_What…? What am I doing? Who are you? What's going on?_

"_**You'll understand in due time…for now, just focus on your mission."**_

_My mission…that's right. My…_

**/="Lost Pieces" from Chrono Cross=/**

He felt water all around his body, not to mention a sudden wave of heat. Slowly, he felt his body sink into the warmness of what was going on. He felt his feet…his legs…his torso…his fingers…legs, neck, jaw, face…and his eyelids. He twitched them, and slowly opened his eyes.

_Where…am I?_

Confused, he pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around him. He was at the sea shore at the rising sun, that he can figure out. Around him, he could see Sea Monks [1] blowing bubbles into the sea, giving the place a strange glow to it. He looked down at his figure, seeing a now dry blue outfit on him and a golden pocket watch in his hands.

_What am I doing here?_

He slowly stood up, the curl bobbing up and down on his head. There wasn't a single soul in sight. But he was on the shore? There was no way he could've just drifted on the side on his own…right? He looked around, trying to see a fleeing figure, but only succeeded in seeing the trees on the hillside.

_That's right…I was supposed to do something…I had to-_

He paused. He didn't have a clue what he meant. Come to think of it…_**what was his **__**name?**_ He found himself going in a state of panic, shaking rapidly and for some reason unable to piece everything together. He was rubbing his forehead, trying to order himself to calm down but failing horribly.

"No! This can't be happening!"

He jumped at the sound of the voice and turned his head, seeing a girl with long brown hair running toward him, a pole in her hands and a look of worry on her face. She tripped _(almost as if it was fate)_ right at his feet. Quickly, he knelt down to her level and raised her up.

"Are you all right?" He asked. Even his voice sounded foreign to him.

"I-it's Matthew! I-I…" She panicked. "He said he was going to do a small mission in the caverns nearby…but he hasn't returned yet! God, what if something happened-"

"It's OK. I'll go." He looked up. "Where are the caverns?"

She looked confused, but only proceeded to point out the pathway. Without even thinking, he turned and dashed toward the caverns, leaving the girl behind to wonder just what was going on and who the strange new man was.

**/="Enchanted Dominion" from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep=/**

By the time he was already in the caverns, he could feel his knees shaking. Going into the cavern alone was a REALLY BAD IDEA. If he was really lucky, he could turn around and head back to the strange girl without anyone being the wiser…

_NO. You have something to do. You have to go through with this, no matter what._

He cringed at his thoughts. Maybe they were better knowing at what he had to do than he did. Sighing, he fought back all of his nerves and proceeded deeper into the caverns. Despite what he believed, there weren't actually any monsters that were attacking him. He thought that was a good thing, since he didn't actually have a weapon with him.

"_N-no! You can't be doing this…"_

He looked up, wondering if he actually heard a voice at all. Confused, he jumped through the hall and found himself in a crystal room, a waterfall echoing in front of him. On the floor was a blond man with a hoodie, two monsters he couldn't identify at his side. In front of that man was another figure, bearing a white mask and two Dire Bats [1] on his shoulders.

"Come on. You call yourself a Tamer? You can't even handle your monsters correctly!" He sighed.

"_Sadik…you're not even treating them like they're living creatures…they're not machines."_ The other one answered. He must be Matthew.

"That's what you think…and I'll be more than willing to let you die believing it!"

The other man lifted his arms, sending the two Dire Bats straight at him. He jumped, unable to think, and relied on his body to figure out what he was going to do. It grabbed his pocket watch and flipped it open, revealing a piece of paper. The paper went in flames, and in its place a flaming dog appeared, burning the Dire Bats away.

"What the-?" He looked up to the young man with the flaming dog. "Who the hell are you?"

He paused. For some reason, he hadn't really thought much into that when he got in here. Eh, he'll figure it out later. He reached over to the blond man he believed was Matthew and pulled him to his feet, the man surprised at his savior, before turning back to the fight.

"_**Angelo del Fuoco [2]!"**_ He called. "Go!"

The flaming dog lunged into the fray, and that's when he felt something latch into his mind. He realized that he was mentally connected to the summon; he could control his thoughts. Instantly, he leaped into the fray. The Dire Bats were gone, leaving the man named Sadik back. He grinned.

"You're not bad." He answered. "I can't wait to meet up with you again."

He quickly vanished into the shadows, leaving the two men alone in the caverns. Matthew broke from his grip and headed toward his monsters, smiling when he saw that all of them were all right. Happy, he turned toward the young man who saved him, the dog returning to his pocket watch.

"_Thank you…whoever you are."_ He answered.

"It's OK, really." He smiled. "Come on…we should return you to the surface."

**/="Roxas" by Kingdom Hearts 2=/**

"Matthew!"

"_Seyel? Is that you?"_

He watched as the blond lifted himself from his shoulders and ran toward the girl, holding each other into a tight embrace. Instantly, he felt a strange sense of happiness in him, as if he had never felt it before. They both turned to him, startling the poor man.

"Thank you so much for helping him!" The girl sobbed. "How can we repay you?"

"H-huh? Repay?" He wasn't expecting that statement. "N-no, really! I don't need payment!"

"_But there must be something we can give you…"_ The man stated.

"Can you at least…give us your name?" She asked. "So we can remember you?"

He paused again. What name was he even going to give them? He didn't even know it! Suddenly, he felt something flick the back of his mind. A name fluttered into his consciousness, something that made him wonder just how he forgot it in the first place. He smiled.

"…Feliciano. Feliciano Vargas."

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[1]- This is the closest thing I can get to a fantasy setting. For those of you who don't know this, the Tales series was one of the first things I wrote about. I hold the series quite dear to me. **

**[2]- It's Italian for "Fire Angel".**

**/=SAVE YOUR PROGRESS?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING...**

**...**

**...**

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE...**

**/=+=/**

**Yes, this is a re-edit. I'm formatting my old chapters with the new format I decided on. Hope you guys can deal with me.**


	2. The First Mission's Always the Hardest

**Sooo…people love this! OK, I'll keep going with this! I DO NOT OWN HETALIA, THE TALES SERIES, OR THE MYSTERIOUS THIRD OPTION YOU ALREADY FIGURED OUT!**

…**come to think of it, I might end up making someone extremely OOC. I don't know who…but for some reason I have that feeling.**

**/=LOADING...=/**

**/="Roxas" by Kingdom Hearts 2=/**

"Feliciano…that's a nice name." The girl smiled. "My name is Seyel Chelles. He's Matthew Williams."

"Pleased to meet you both." He quickly bowed.

"_I haven't seen you before."_ Matthew blinked. _"Are you a traveler?"_

"Um…y-yeah!" He quickly stammered. Being labeled as an amnesia victim was the last thing on his mind. "Though I guess…I can stay here for a while."

"Oh, do you need a home?" Seyel asked. "I have a place that's vacant, if you want."

"R-really, I don't mind-"

"Nonsense! You're going to love this!"

Before he knew it, Feliciano had his arm grabbed by the girl and was being dragged across the sand to a strange location in god knows where. Matthew just trotted along, apparently used to what she was going to do next.

**/="Raine's Theme" by Tales of Symphonia=/**

He found himself in the middle of the forest, his hand still being held by Seyel. Before his arm was yanked out of its socket, he saw a small cottage indented in a layer of trees. She dragged him just in front of the house and smiled happily at it, seeing Matthew dash next to her, heaving his breaths.

"What do you think?" She asked. "Isn't it beautiful?"

He looked around at the front lawn, neatly cut and with a bit of daisies sitting next to the door. He walked toward the door, surprised that the door was unlocked. He slowly opened the door and took a glance inside the room. It looked like a simple living room combined with a small kitchen, a staircase behind the couch. He climbed up the stairs and saw a simple bed and nightstand next to a closed window. Turning around, he saw Seyel and Matthew walk up the stairs after him.

"So? Do you like it?"

"…I don't know if I can pay for it though." He answered.

"It's fine. It used to be my house, but then I moved in with Matt." She smiled. "The rent's cheap, so you can probably pay it off even if you get a cheap job."

"But…how do I get a job around here?" Feliciano asked.

"_Well, there's a bulletin board just in front of the local main square. They're usually filled with some odd jobs."_ Matthew rubbed the back of his head. _"Though those jobs are usually for experienced fighters…"_

"Like mercenary work? Ve~…I guess I can take a look!"

Feliciano chirped as he ran down the stairs and out the door _(leaving the other two in a daze)_. Five seconds later in the total silence, they saw the door creak open slowly and a familiar head peek out in a shiver.

"Um…where's the main square?"

**/="Arni Village ~Home World~" by Chrono Cross=/**

The streets were abuzz with life when Feliciano wandered around the city. As he looked around, he saw the food stands filled with people in lively conversation with the store owners. The food was overwhelming to his nose…and he was getting hungry. He was also insanely broke.

_Ve~~~I hope I find that main square place soon…_ He sighed. _Wait, I thought I was supposed to be following-_

Oh right. The blond guy. Matthew, was it? He looked up and didn't see a flock of his hair in sight. Maybe he lost him? Or maybe he was just here and was watching the poor man flail around in all his worried glory so that he can scare the ever living out of him when he gets really lost.

…

"Ve~~~! Where am I?"

"I'm sorry…are you lost?"

Feliciano looked up and saw a young man staring right back at him. He had short black hair and some form of daze in his eyes. His white uniform was in tip top shape. It was probably newly bought or extremely taken care of. A katana was at his side, sheathed tightly.

"Um…yes." He answered. "I just got here. I'm looking for the main square with the jobs bulletin board in front of it _or so I heard…"_

"Oh yes, that place. Don't worry, it's fairly close." He pointed behind him. "You go that way and take your first right at that concession stand right there. It'll be right in front of you."

"Ve~~Thank you!"

Feliciano bowed to him _(the man returning the favor)_ as he trotted toward the concession stand. For some reason, he missed the turning point and ended up on the other end of the city. Fortunately, the main square was a big place and he ended up running into it anyway. There was a beautiful fountain in the middle, and what looked like a big sign filled with papers.

_That must be the bulletin board!_

He trotted over to the place and took a quick glance at it. For some reason, most of the jobs were nothing more than repeats of the same thing: monster outbreaks, missing people, really odd and depressing stuff. As he read over the missions, he barely noticed two people come over and take a glance at it as well.

"It's the same as ever…these disasters are just getting worse and worse, aren't they?"

"Yeah…I'm getting worried, Kiryll. They just started out of nowhere, didn't they? These outbreaks…"

"Fortunately, these things are just being kept to their respective homes. God forbid these things actually get into town…"

"Well, for now…all we can do is keep going, Astrid. Oh, this mission looks pretty good."

Feliciano stood there as he watched the two people walk away from him with the piece of paper in their hands. Confused, he turned back toward the board and took a quick skim of the missions. That's when he realized something: one of the pieces of paper was glowing.

_Ve? What's this?_

He looked around, confirming that no one was remarking on it as well, and then took a quick read of what was on the paper.

**[****HELP NEEDED****]**

**My brother Yong Soo has gone in the Shu****ǐ****j****ī****ng Dòngxuè and hasn't returned. I'm worried that he got lost…or worse! Please help me.**

**- Húdié** **Mei[1]**

It looked nothing more than a simple rescue mission. Nothing that interesting. He could take that. He quickly took the paper off the board when a strange chill ran down his spine. He turned his head and saw a notebook and a pencil sitting right at his feet.

"Ve~~is this someone's…?" He picked it up and flipped through the empty pages. "It's a gift!"

Yeah, he's just that oblivious to notice anything that might be a cheap plot twist.

**/="Blinded by Light" by Final Fantasy XIII=/**

It took him a few minutes to get directions to the location of his first job. It took him at least an hour and a half to actually find the place. Before he knew it, he had filled up half the pages with the most random doodles in the world _(like a sword bearing a tomato insigna? Really?)_ and he was in front of a cavern entrance with two different people in front of it. One looked like a young girl and had long flowing hair with a pink dress. The other was a man with thick eyebrows, but looked related to her.

"Um…are you two the ones who put this request up?" He asked, lifting up the paper.

"Eh?" She turned around. "Is it just you? I thought that there'd be more…"

"No, it's just me." He blushed.

"That's as many people as he needs, Mei." The other man stated. "You don't have to worry so much."

"Yīngguó Shì! [2]"

"He's just inside." The man stated. "There may be monsters in there, so-"

"Ve~~~no worries! I'll be able to handle them all!" Feliciano stated, a grin going through his face. "Don't you worry about a thing!"

He dashed into the caverns with a huge grin on his face. Five seconds in the building…he wanted to leave. Too bad he really couldn't leave. He already got himself way too deep into this. He better finish it.

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[OPTIONS] [LANGUAGE]=/**

**Translations for you! This is from Google Translation, so blame them.**

[Shuǐjīng Dòngxuè]** CHINESE– **_Crystal Caverns_

**/=[CHARACTERS]=/**

**[1]- ****Húdié Mei **is Taiwan. Húdié means "butterfly". Mei means "plum blossom", which is different from Meimei, which means "sister" _(as far as I know)_.

**[2]- ****Yīngguó Shì** is Hong Kong. Taken literally it means "English City", a statement on how England took control of Hong Kong for some time.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING...**

**...**

**...**

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE.**

**/=+=/**

**Sorry if this is ending up to be somewhat crappy.**


	3. Trek Inside the Caves

**Round three of the Hetalia Fantasy **_**(huh, sounds like Final Fantasy…only cooler).**_** I DON'T OWN HETALIA.**

**/=LOADING...=/**

**/="Blinded by Light" by Final Fantasy XIII=/**

Feliciano looked around in the cave. It sure does live to its name, the crystals nearly blinding him when he accidentally shone a flashlight on them. He must've "ve-d" from the shock at least five times before realizing that it was his fault. After that, he resorted to just walking around the semi-lit floor.

_Ve~~~it's scary in here…_ He thought. _I wish that I got someone with me…_

He felt extremely lost in the caves. How in the world did he not know where he was going? You would've thought that he would have some form of clue. Maybe he forgot to get something while he was back in the city…food? No, it wasn't food…maybe he wrote something in his notebook that'll remind him…

A screeching noise took him by surprise. He looked up and saw _(to his horror)_ a huge rock monster charging straight at him. Panicking, he jumped out of the way and landed on his back as the monster straightened himself and turned back to his prey.

"Ve~~~!" _Feliciano…do something!_

Something snapped in the back of his mind. It was a voice, he believed. It held no gender…no familiar human sound…but it wasn't robotic either. He didn't know how to describe it.

"_**Draw your sword…and fight."**_

_But…I don't have a sword!_

He looked down at his notebook and saw the pages flip to one of his drawings: a golden sword with a tomato emblem. Before he could even begin questioning the fact that the sword was on a piece of paper, the picture began to glow, an image of a sword's hilt shaping and protruding from the book. He grabbed the hilt and drew it, seeing the notebook turn into the sword in his hand…the sword from the sketch.

"Ve~~~the sword turned real…"

He was so entranced in what he did that he had completely forgotten that the monster was charging back at him. It wasn't until he started jumping on the ground and started an earthquake that he snapped out of it. Instantly, he grabbed his blade and took one long swing at him. He was about…five meters away from the monster, but the swing sent a yellow slash-pulse thing _(that's what he called it)_ straight toward the monster. He collapsed without a second thought.

"Eh? He's not moving…" Feliciano looked at his sword. "Did I do that to him?"

He concluded that this was yet another mystery that needed to be solved. Feeling a little better about himself, he quickly ran deeper into the caverns, hoping that he would hear some form of yelling or screaming or anything up to that matter. All he ended up bumping into are a couple of monsters _(which didn't make much for a fight)_. He began to wonder if he was in here at all.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" He called out. "Answer me if you can hear me!"

Like that ever works.

After being responded by silence, he pressed on. A few monsters later, he found himself in a huge hallway filled with dangling crystals. They were shining their own brilliant light _(an odd shade of blue)_, and seemed to absorb any form of echo that responded from a single sound.

_Is…he even in here?_

A screech caught his attention. He quickly turned his head and saw a huge golem rise from the crystals. Diamonds shone for his eyes, and guess what? Yep, they were looking straight at him. Someone obviously wasn't happy about waking up.

"_**Uwaaaaaa!"**_

Feliciano jumped for dear life as the golem started crashing the room, begging for his life. After a few seconds, it became apparent that this golem thing wasn't going to do that. He suddenly recalled drawing that sword from that random notebook of his. _Maybe it'll work again…?_

**/="Sinister Shadows" by Kingdom Hearts II=/**

Quickly, he jumped behind another rock and dug out his notebook as the golem smashed through another wall. He scanned the pages for the sword, ducking and whimpering all the way. _Is this seriously how everything is going to end up working out into in the end?_ Before he knew it, the pages stopped flipping, but it wasn't at the sword. It was a fancy suit of armor.

_Eh…?_

The notebook started glowing in his hands, blinding his eyes. As quickly as it erupted, it faded away. Feliciano opened his eyes and saw that the sword he was looking for was in his hands. He "ve~d" as he jumped to his feet and turned toward the golem, who finally got eye contact with him. Without so much as thinking about it, he jumped into the air and slashed right through the golem.

_Ve~! It's working!_

He landed on his feet _(that's something he never thought was possible)_ and saw as the golem fell to its knees. It was then that he noticed something weird: his forearm looked oddly misshapen. He looked at his body and saw to his horror that he had literally become the suit of armor.

"Ve~~~is this even possible?" At least his voice sounded untampered. "OK, uh…c-can you leave me alone, big golem man?"

The golem didn't seem to understand that statement, since he stood up and continued to charge toward Feliciano. He quickly lifted his sword to counter when he heard the wind suddenly shift. A figure had appeared out of nowhere, slashing the monster as it threw Feliciano back.

_Uwa! Where did he come from?_

He straightened his figure as he saw the golem collapse again and the figure straightened itself. It was then that Feliciano noticed something: it was the same young man that he met up with back in the city. No, it wasn't Matthew. It was that black-haired man…whatever his name is. The figure smiled.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

He was about to answer that question when he saw the golem straighten himself and charged toward them. The figure paused as he readied his weapon, only to see the golem freeze in his place. That's when he saw a crack through its body, and then it separated without a second glance.

"I thought I told you, Kiku: you should be paying attention about your surroundings next time!"

Feliciano turned his head _(well, more like his helmet)_ to see a figure walk toward them. He had short, blond hair and striking blue eyes, his green uniform contrasting the blue crystals around them. Looking up, he saw that the two parts of the golem was standing up yet again. With a wave of his hand, it separated yet again.

"Don't be too surprised." The other man smiled. "He can manipulate earth and fire like that…"

He looked confused as the golem dissipated into dust. After a few milliseconds, he was extremely interested. He turned around and saw the blond man staring _(well, more like GLARING)_ at him. Yes, it did send a huge shiver down his back. After a few more seconds, the blond blinked in confusion.

"_He's not dissipating?"_ He muttered.

"W-what are you doing?" He asked.

"What? I-it talks?" The man was taken aback.

"Ludwig, don't be so surprised. He's not a monster." The other one looked at him. "He's a _Sigillato Attraversa,_ just like us."

The other man looked at Feliciano in confusion. Meanwhile, the suit of armor was wondering just what the heck _Sigillato Attraversa_ meant. Before he knew it, he felt his body glowing and fade. The other two looked at him in a huge state of confusion, causing him to look back at his body.

"Ve~~~I'm back to normal!" He chirped. "And here I thought I was going to be in that suit of armor forever!"

"K-Kiku…" The blond man turned to him. "What just happened?"

In an instant, the man called Kiku appeared right next to Feliciano, causing him to yelp in surprise. His hand reached out and lightly turned his wrist, making him notice that his notebook was in his hand. The page that he was holding out happened to be the suit of armor that he had turned into.

"I see…and it doesn't look like it's coming from the notebook…" He smiled. "Definitely one of us."

"Ve~~~?"

"I'll explain later…but for now, aren't you on a mission?" He chuckled. "Mei sent you, I believe. We'll go together."

**/="Cavern of Remembrance" by Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days=/**

Feliciano skipped in front of everyone and noticed that he had reached a dead end. In the middle of the room was a huge crystal that was glowing a strange yellow color, totally different from the blue crystals around them. As he approached the crystal, he felt his heart pounding rapidly against his chest.

"Are you…alright?" The black-haired man asked.

"…u-um…yeah, I'm OK." He answered, looking extremely confused. "What is this?"

"You don't know what it is?" The blond looked extremely confused, more so than Feliciano. "That's a crystal. You're surrounded by it."

"No, but…" Feliciano looked at it. "It…seems to be calling to me."

The blond folded his arms as Feliciano tapped the crystal, hearing a ding with each touch. On the third touch, he felt his blood grow cold. His entire palm slapped onto the crystal and electricity shoot through his veins. The other two looked at him in confusion as he dropped to his knees, seeing a glowing symbol on his chest.

"Hey, don't touch that da ze!"

The two of them jumped out of the way as a figure charged through them and pulled Feliciano away from the crystal. Instantly, he felt the electricity cease its pain, yet the symbol remained. The place where he touched it shone a brilliant gold before fading away. The mysterious man looked at Feliciano for a minute before unbuttoning his shirt.

"Y-Yong Soo!" The black-haired man jumped. "Don't do that-!"

"Don't worry, I'm not claiming him! I need to check something." He pulled the shirt apart. "Oh, there it is! The _Vitula!_ Good thing it isn't touched, too!"

Feliciano looked at him with a sense of confusion before turning to his chest, seeing a strange circular shape with strange designs on his chest, right where his heart would be. He rubbed on the color that shaped it, feeling nothing more than the skin underneath his finger.

"That's his _Vitula?"_ The blond looked at him. "I've never seen one on the chest before."

"U-um…_Vitula?"_ Feliciano blinked. "What's that?"

"You don't know?" The stranger looked confused. "It's the source of your power, da ze! The one that connects you to the _Sceptrum Angelis!_ The _Scettro degli Angeli!_ You never heard of it?"

"I-I'm sorry…I don't know much past my own name."

"Amnesia?"

"…" He could only nod.

"I see…well, this must be a lot to process." The black-haired man lifted his hand. "Well then, let's start with introductions. My name is Kiku Honda. The blond man behind you is Ludwig, and the man next to you is…my relative, Yong Soo Im."

"Pleased to meet you, da ze!" Yong Soo chirped.

"Ve~~nice to meet you all!" He stood up, no longer scared. "My name is Feliciano Vargas!"

The blond man only sighed at his approach, but Kiku's relative was more than happy to bow and shake his hand rapidly…before proceeding to grab his chest _(more accurately…his boobs)_. Feliciano yelped in shock.

"Yong Soo!"

"What? This is how I say hi!" He answered. "Hey, how're the others? Are they still outside?"

"Y-yep…" Feliciano answered.

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[OPTIONS] [LANGUAGE]=/**

**[**Sigillato Attraversa**] ITALIAN-** _Sealed Cross_

**[**Vitula**] LATIN-** _Seal_

**[**Sceptrum Angelis**] LATIN- **_Scepter of Angels_

**[**Scettro degli Angeli**] ITALIAN-** _Scepter of Angels_


	4. The Sigillato Attraversa

**That's right, Chapter Four! Thank goodness that it's up!**

**/=LOADING...=/**

**/="The Theme of a Character Joining" from RomaHeta=/**

"O-oh! Yong Soo!"

Húdié Mei hugged the strange man as they walked out of the cavern. Yïngguó Shí just stood back and watched as Kiku slowly pried her hands off of her suffocating cousin. Feliciano only stood there and "ve~d" in some form of interest. Ludwig only sighed and stood back.

"What the hell were you doing in there? You made me so worried!" Húdié Mei cried.

"I was looking at the crystals in there, duh! I was curious about their reactions to _Sigillato Attraversa _and their _Vitula."_ He answered. "Most of them weren't reacting to my _Vitula_, but they were going berserk with Feli-ku's here!"

"I'm sorry, but…" Yïngguó Shí blinked. "Feli-ku?"

"Yeah, Feli-ku!" Yong Soo draped an arm around Feliciano. "This is Feliciano, but I call him Feli-ku for short, like how Kiku would say his name!"

"Yong Soo…the term is Feli-kun." He answered.

"Whatever, da ze…I say Feli-ku!" He looked at him. "Isn't that right?"

"Um…y-yeah, exactly!" Like he had a clue what was going on. "Oh yeah, Yong Soo…you were going to explain to me about what you were talking about before."

"Oh yeah, the _Sigillato Attraversa!"_ He turned to Feliciano. "You know what? Let's not talk here. I have a better place to go."

**/="Garden of the Gods" by Chrono Cross=/**

Feliciano was led into a beautiful white building in the city. As he was approaching it, he was surprised that he never saw it, since it was so tall and it was a clear image when he was standing in the main square. Ludwig only grunted as he passed the surprised young man into the temple-ish area.

"Hurry up." He grumbled. "Before we decide to leave you."

"Ve~~~~! Don't leave me!"

He grabbed Ludwig's arm, who tried his best to pull away _(and failed)_. Through that state of chaos, Feliciano didn't notice that he had been escorted into the library until Ludwig was actually successful in pulling his arm away. He looked up to the bookcases filled to the roof with books.

"Where are we?" Feliciano asked.

"We're in the Candidum Library, of course! It's named that because if you take all the bookcases out of here, you'll just be in a white room!" Yong Soo answered. "If we're looking for the general stuff, then we need to go…that way!"

Yong Soo quickly jumped down the pathway, forcing the others to dash after him. Feliciano _(because he's…well, Feliciano)_ had stayed behind in awe, and had only seen the flowing hair of Húdié Mei pass. He panicked and ran as fast as he could toward them, desperate not to lose them…

And ran into someone.

"_**Gah!"**_ He straightened himself. "I'm sorry, I was in a rush, I didn't see you!"

"_It's OK, I was careless that I didn't see you…"_ The man looked up. _"Feliciano?"_

"Eh?" He blinked. "I remember your face, but…what was your name again?"

"_Eheheh…I get that a lot. It's Matthew."_ He answered. _"What are you doing here, anyway?"_

"I was following a couple of my friends, but…" He looked around. "I think I lost them…"

"_Actually, I saw a girl run around that way. She seemed to have a flower in her hair…was that one of them?"_

"Yeah, actually! Where'd she go?"

**/="America's Cleaning of the Storage" by Hetalia: Axis Powers=/**

After a few minutes of dashing, he was led to a desk where everyone was sitting down. Yong Soo seemed to be too busy digging books from everywhere to notice that Feliciano had been missing for a while. Ludwig just shook his head, clearly annoyed at his late appearance.

"Did you get lost, Feliciano?" Kiku asked.

"J-just a little." He answered. "Luckily, he saw where you were going and led me here."

"Oh, that guy?" Húdié Mei leaned over on the table. "The blond man? Why does he look familiar?"

"Duh, it's Alfred F. Jones." Yïngguó Shí stated. "They even look the same."

"Seriously? **THE** Alfred F. Jones?" Húdié Mei stood up. "What's he doing all the way here?"

"_I-I'm sorry, but that's not my name…"_ Matthew answered. _"My name's Matthew…"_

"W-wait…you're not Alfred?" She sat back down. "Never mind then…"

"_I…I get that a lot."_ He sighed.

After a few minutes of that, Yong Soo started parading toward all of them, slamming piles of books onto the table. He turned toward Feliciano, and for a split second he saw something shine in his eyes. It was a symbol, but it wasn't the same as his. It was a bit more…spacey and open. _Is that his Vitula?_

"Sit down, Feliciano. This is going to be long, da ze."

Matthew stood back as Feliciano slowly took a seat across from Yong Soo. Instantly, he pulled out a book and slid it toward him. Feliciano was startled and it smacked his hand. He whimpered in pain for a minute before he flipped it open in the place where it was marked. Opening it, he saw that it was filled with strange writing.

"That book right there has the original copy of the legend concerning the _Sigillato Attraversa_ and the _Vitula."_ He stated. "Just read it and see if you have any questions."

"Um…all right." Feliciano looked at the book. _**"Bear the cross that hangs above all, o' child of the sign. For you are blessed with the holy scepter, the light that created all that is known. Its gift grants only a chosen few, but not all are worthy of its presence. If you are not born worthy…let those who trespass into these uncharted lands be damned…"**_

Feliciano looked up twice as confused as before. It was then that he saw everyone else staring at him with a surprised look on all their faces, making him even more confused than the feeling of being confused. Yong Soo, however, only sat there with a smile on his face.

"So I was right: you are unique."

"U-unique?" He blinked. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"That text you were reading, da ze? The language had been dead for about a millennium." Yong Soo answered. "No one reads it anymore."

"Ve~~~~? But…I can read this clearly as if I spoke it…" Feliciano rubbed his throat. "Can anyone understand me at all?"

"You're speaking our language, Feli-ku. Don't worry about that, da ze." Yong Soo chuckled. "But you can read that…how interesting."

"Eh? But you said that I should read this and see if I had questions!"

"That was Trial #1: Could you actually read that? And you can." He answered. "In that case, it makes it all the weirder that you have no idea what the _Sigillato Attraversa _is about."

"I-I'm sorry…" He looked down.

"It's fine. People always have the strangest sense of information." Kiku answered. "Put simply, the _Sigillato Attraversa_ is the 'holy scepter' that you mentioned in the legend."

"It granted everyone their powers…" Feliciano blinked.

"People that are supposedly chosen by the _Sigillato Attraversa_ are called the _Gekozen._ They're physically differentiated with the non-chosen by a mark on their bodies, the _Vitula."_ Húdié Mei grinned. "Yong Soo has his on his forehead. Kiku has his on his back. And Ludwig-"

The blond grunted as he stood up, leaving the library immediately _(much to Feliciano's surprise)_. He muttered a sorry when he bumped into Matthew on the way out, but the blond made no move to say anything, too startled to even think about a reaction for him.

"Don't worry about Ludwig." Yïngguó Shí stated. "He just had a bad history with the _Sigillato_."

"I…see." He answered. "But…he's a _Gekozen, _right?"

"Yeah. His is wrapped around his shoulders." Kiku stated.

"You saw his mark?" Yong Soo looked interested. "I thought he never showed anyone that."

"I only saw it once. He's pretty secretive about it." He answered. "I thought you'd see it, since that is your ability."

"I did. I just wanted you to say it." He turned to Matthew. "Well then, da ze. Since we lost a blond at our table, you're more than welcome to join us."

"_N-no, really! It's rude to just barge into a conversation like this-"_

"Nah, it's fine! All _Gekozen_ are welcome at this table!" Yong Soo leaned back on his chair.

"Hm? He's one of us, yet he's NOT Alfred…" Húdié Mei stared at him. "Are you sure you're not Alfred?"

"_No, I'm not! I mean…I do have a Vitula, but it's not the same as Alfred's…"_

"Ve~? You have one?" Feliciano looked confused. "Where?"

"_Um…it's actually in the back of my head…you can't really see it, but…"_

Kiku and Feliciano quickly jumped to their seats and walked toward _(well, more like assaulted)_ the poor blond man, parting his hair to see his scalp. Sure enough, there was a mark there. It looked similar to Feliciano's, but it was yellow and seemed to be focused more on the left side of the _Vitula_.

"It looks like it completely took over your scalp…" Kiku stated. "You must've been using your power often."

"_Well, turning invisible is usually helpful whenever Seyel and I get into anything too big."_ He answered. _"Um…this is awkward…"_

"Oh, sorry." Kiku backed up. "Better?"

"_A little bit…yes."_ He rubbed the back of his head. _"But, um…going back to the legend, Yong Soo…does it ever mention any connection to the monster outbreaks occurring recently?"_

"Only once. Closer to the back of the book. Don't worry, da ze. I won't make Feli-ku read it." Yong Soo grinned. "It states something about a flawed _Gekozen_ called the _Iniquum _and him bearing the ultimate power. Once that guy hits this planet, **BOOM**, we're dead."

"Ve~~~~! He sounds scary!" Feliciano shivered.

Everyone was staring at Feliciano's shivering figure that they didn't even notice Yïngguó Shí touch the back of Matthew's head. He jumped in surprise, and for a split second they could see a symbol on the palm of his hand. Húdié Mei sighed as she stood up from her seat.

"Must you do that to every _Gekozen,_ brother?" She asked.

"I was curious. By the feel of it, he's actually mastered using it." He pulled his hand back, rubbing the palm. "That's an impressive feat."

"_It's…not that impressive, really."_ He answered.

Feliciano stared at them with a blank look on his face, confused on just what happened. Slowly, he turned behind him and barely saw a blond figure walk away from the conversation. He wondered if he should follow the figure out the door. Slowly, he walked out of the room.

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[OPTIONS] [LANGUAGE]=/**

**Bear with me. I just found out that the translator does Latin.**

**[**Candidum**] LATIN-** _White_

**[**Gekozen**] DUTCH-**_ Chosen_

**[**Iniquum**] LATIN- **_Flawed_

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**And on another note, this is a list of everyone's powers so far. This list is subject to change, so bear with me.**

**[FELICIANO]- **_Anything that he draws can come to life. He can even fuse with his art if they are human or humanoid in shape/form._ Vitula: Heart

**[KIKU]-**_ Teleportation. His Vitula is an actual symbol that he can teleport onto if drawn on another surface, even if drawn in a location he never saw before. _Vitula: Back

**[LUDWIG]-** _Manipulates fire and earth. The bigger they are, the more energy he has to exert. _Vitula: Shoulders

**[YONG SOO]- **_Can see the Vitula of anyone, hidden or not, even when they don't know that they have it._ Vitula: Forehead

**[MATTHEW]-** _Turns himself and anything he touches invisible._ Vitula: Scalp

**[SHI]- **_Copies any ability from a touched Vitula. If the Gekozen willingly allows it, the copy can be permanent._ Vitula: Palm of hand

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING...**

**...**

**...**

**SAVING COMPLETE.**


	5. It's Like Looking in a Mirror

**I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers. I really don't. So don't ask me about it.**

**/=LOADING...=/**

**/="Silent Dream" by Tales of Destiny 2=/**

Feliciano trekked quietly through the city, wondering if he could see the blond figure again. He searched high and low, only catching glimpses of what looked like to be him. Instead he found himself hopelessly lost. Not only did he lose Ludwig, but he had no idea where he was.

_Ve~~~is it that easy to get lost around here?_ He whined. _Wah…I wanna go home…_

"Are you _**stalking**_ me?"

He screeched in shock, darting his head around. And what do you know? There was Ludwig, leaning on the side of a nearby tree as if he was the one following him the entire time. He got off the tree and stared at him with an expression that seemed to say _"explanation, please"_.

"Uwa! I-I-I was just worried about you! You left so quickly that I thought you'd get lost here-"

"I've lived in this city my entire life." He answered. "I can't suddenly get lost."

"…well…I'm lost."

_***Few seconds of awkward silence here***_

"Are you serious."

"Ve~~~"

"…do you have any idea where you're going?"

"…home. Though I don't know where home is…"

"You don't know where you live?" Ludwig sounded annoyed.

"Ve~~~I just got here yesterday…"

Ludwig sighed and rolled his eyes. The city of Kaishi isn't that big to get easily lost in, even if you got there the day before. So either this guy was joking around or he really was that slow in the head. He did have the annoying factor going on, so…

"How is it possible to get lost in a city this small?" He asked him again.

"I don't know…can I stay with you until I find my house?"

"N-no!" Ludwig jumped back. "You don't just ask something like that out of the blue!"

"But I'm_** LOST**_, Ludwig…"

It was then that Feliciano clung onto his jacket and proceeded to give him a little something known to everyone as the 'puppy dog eyes'. Poor Ludwig was forced to look directly at the eyes and for some reason could not look away _(even when he was willing it from the depths of his soul)_. He had to admit it: Feliciano knew how to beg.

"What? Are you serious? No way am I agreeing to that!"

They both looked up in confusion before walking toward the sound of the screaming voice. Ludwig sighed, finally happy that he was able to snap off the death grip that was Feliciano's begging technique, and proceeded to try to lose Feliciano. Of course, he failed doing that too.

**/="The Touching Determination" by Tales of Vesperia=/**

"I don't have access to that kind of money, you jerk! There's no way in hell I'll be able to pay you!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. No payment, no offer; that's how I roll."

Feliciano and Ludwig wandered through the crowd to see what was going on. There were four people in the middle of the main square, one of them yelling at the other three. The one doing all the screaming had his back to them, but Feliciano was sure that he had a khaki uniform. The one ignoring his request had silver hair and red eyes, not to mention a strange grin on his face.

"Come on, man…use that _Vitula_ of yours, why don't you? It'll make the payment all the easier!"

"With this many witnesses? Are you fucking stupid?"

"Then I can't help you!" The silver-haired man turned around. "I have a lot more awesome things that I have to do now."

The three of them turned and left, leaving the poor man alone. As the crowd parted, Feliciano couldn't help but stare at the man that had just sank into the ground. He turned and lightly tugged on Ludwig's jacket, annoying the blond man until he saw the look on his face.

"Do you know who that man was?" He asked.

"That was Gilbert Beilschmidt. He's a mercenary that usually hangs out in the small cities to harass clients who can't pay for him." Ludwig answered, folding his hands. "He was always one to have a big ego…he's not someone you should be hanging out with…"

Feliciano turned back to the man on the ground. Letting go of Ludwig's sleeve, he slowly walked toward him. He hovered over him for a few minutes before kneeling down to his level and lightly holding his shoulder. The man looked up with a sneer, catching him by surprise. But that wasn't what caught Feliciano's attention.

"Will you let me go, bastard?"

_This man…he looks just like me._ "I…I was just wondering if you need any help."

"I don't need any help, dammit." He swatted his hand off of him as he stood up.

"But…" Feliciano stood up. "You just said that you needed help to Gilbert-"

"I said I don't need anything!" He spat, taking a deep breath. "I'm perfectly fine."

Feliciano was taken aback yet again, but that was after hearing his voice. Sure, it was a little deeper and a bit rougher, but other than that they sounded _perfectly_ alike. Ludwig shook his head, obviously thinking that the brunette was throwing himself into something he couldn't handle and reached out to his shoulder.

"You don't look fine."

They both froze, surprised at his comment. The young man turned toward him, shock all over his otherwise tan skin. Ludwig blinked, connecting their resemblances as well. The young man regained his composure.

"You seemed like you really needed help from Gilbert." Feliciano answered, smiling. "I don't know if I can help you, but at least let me try-"

"_**Lasciami in pace!**__**"**_

A cloud of dust erupted in their eyes, causing Feliciano to cough rapidly. Once Ludwig was able to fan away the majority of it, they looked up and realized that the man was gone. Feliciano looked around, surprised that he had suddenly vanished.

"D-did he teleport?"

"I have a feeling it's more of speed." Ludwig answered. "He must've been a _Gekozen._ Well, there's nothing we can do about it now…"

Feliciano didn't want to give up on that man. Maybe it was because they shared the same face. Maybe it was because they sounded alike. But whatever the reason was, he felt drawn to that young man. He had to find him in whatever way he could. A strange thought crossed his mind.

"Hey, Ludwig…you live here, right?"

"Eh? Of course I do, Feliciano."

"So I might be able to see you tomorrow?"

"Uh…if our paths cross."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow then!"

He didn't even turn to flash a smile at him. Ludwig looked confused as he quickly dashed away from him into parts unknown. He sighed, wondering if he should follow him, but then realized that he actually looked like he knew where he was going. He decided to call it a night.

**/="Grand Fonic Hymn (Music Box Version)" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

He found himself running deep into the woods, trekking down pathways that he didn't think existed. He wondered if that man would run down this path at all. Yet he knew that if he was the one running in his shoes, he would run down this path. He didn't know if he would be right, but it was the only thing he had going.

_That man…who was he? And why do I feel so drawn to him?_

After a few long minutes, he finally found himself back on a paved pathway leading to the Oceanside. He immediately recognized it as the place where he had woken up. He could remember where his house was from here. _Ve~~~maybe I'm not lost after all!_ He was about to dash up ahead when he saw a familiar figure standing away from him.

"It's you…"

The man turned around, startled by seeing him again. He leaned down, obviously preparing to dash out again. But for a split second, Feliciano could see a faint glow from his legs. The glow quickly dashed past him, a blur of khaki appearing soon after. The blur seemed slower than usual, allowing Feliciano to turn around and reach toward it. Sure enough, the blur stopped, and all he got was the struggling figure.

"H-hey! Let me go!"

"I'm not letting you go!" Feliciano answered. "I want to help you!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, dammit? I don't need any help!"

"Then why were you confronting Gilbert?"

The man froze, confused by what he was saying. They stopped and turned toward each other, looking deep into each other's eyes. After a few minutes he scoffed and pulled his arm out of Feliciano's hold, though he made no move to run away.

"I wanted to be part of his gang."

"Ve~? You wanted to be a gangbanger?"

"That's not it, dammit!" He scoffed again, folding his arms and looking away. "Look, I don't have a home and I'm terrified of just wandering the world alone. So I thought that if I was going to leave this place, it'd be with him. OK, happy? Now leave me alone."

Feliciano stared at him for a few minutes, seeing that he clearly embarrassed the poor guy. After a few minutes, he grinned his usual grin, startling the other man.

"I have a house you can move into." He chirped. "It's a one-bedroom building but it has two floors, so I have room that you can stay in."

"Pft. You don't have to humor me, you jerk."

"Ve~~~I'm telling the truth! You can come with me if you don't believe me!"

**/=+=/**

The man wandered into the small building, looking at the simplicity of the design. Feliciano locked the door behind him as he wandered up the staircase to the only bedroom in the house. After a while, he heard footsteps and saw the man walk back down.

"Eh…it's livable." He answered.

"Ve~~~I've tried the bed before, and it's really soft." Feliciano grinned. "You can take it, if you want."

"Forget it. I'm more of a couch person, anyway." He sighed, plopping on it. "Take the bed, I don't really care."

"OK."

Feliciano plopped on the couch next to him, "ve~"ing and swinging his legs _(even though it was like, 11:00 at night)_. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the man turned toward him with a strange look on his face, catching him off guard. He tilted his head.

"I thought I was just seeing things, but…" He stated. "We do kind of look alike."

"Ve~~~I thought that as well!" He answered. "Do you have any relatives?"

"Course not. I was an only child!" The man sighed. "Wait, why the hell are you asking? I don't even know your name!"

"You do now!" He raised his hand. "I'm Feliciano! Feliciano Vargas!"

"What? Are you serious? My last name is Vargas!" The man jumped forward. "Are you stalking me?"

"Ve~~~~! W-we just met!" He whimpered. "And…_I don't know your name…"_

"Tch…fine. I'll buy that…for now." The man sighed. "Call me Lovino."

"OK, Lovi-kun!"

"It's **LOVINO."**

"All right, Lovi-kun!"

"_**LOVINO!**__**"**_

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[OPTIONS] [LANGUAGE]=/**

**More translations for all of you.**

**[**Kaishi**] JAPANESE- **_Beginning_ (Nice name for a city, huh?)

**[**Lasciami in pace!**] ITALIAN- **_Just leave me alone!_

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**And more super powers for the curious!**

**[GILBERT]- **_Think Dragon Ball for this. Cause I have no idea how to explain laser beams._ Vitula: Back of his hands

**[LOVINO]-**_ Super speed, like Sonic the Hedgehog!_ Vitula: Calves


	6. Day One With Feliciano and Lovino!

**I don't own Hetalia: Axis Powers. I'll keep repeating it in each chapter if I have to. I don't mind doing it, seriously.**

**/=LOADING...=/**

**/="Cheagle Woods" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

He yawned, the sunlight reaching through his window. Looking out to the world, he saw that Lovino was outside, staring at the edges of the house with a strange look on his face. Confused, he got dressed and headed out the door, sneaking up behind him.

"Buon giorno, Lovi-kun!"

Lovino actually took the sudden surprise quite well. He didn't jump up five hundred feet in the air screaming something that _(when thoroughly pronounced)_ stated _**"CHIGIIIII!"**_ And Feliciano jumping away was just because he wanted to do a high five and Lovino didn't get it!

"My god, dammit…don't do that!"

"Ve~~~~I'm sorry, I just wanted to say good morning…" He looked at where Lovino was. "What are you doing?"

"Tch…I was just wondering if the soil was good enough for gardening." He admitted, almost shamefully. "With this time and place, I was thinking about tomatoes-"

"Ve~~~I was just thinking about tomatoes!" Feliciano chirped. "It's too bad that my fridge is empty, though…"

"Empty? Did you stock up on food at all?"

"I just got here two days ago…"

"_My god…you just get here and you're already starving yourself to death, freaking bastard…"_ Lovino turned to him. "Do you even have money?"

"Of course I do, Lovi-kun! From my last mission!" He pulled out a small wallet. "Enough for the day, right?"

"Let me see…" Lovino looked into the wallet. "Feli, we barely have enough to buy us breakfast!

"Uwaaa! I thought we have enough for the week!" He sobbed. "Ve~~~~! Are we going to starve?"

"D-don't say stupid things like that, dammit!" Lovino spat. "We'll just...get another job, that's all."

"Ve~~~you're so wise, Lovi-kun."

"It's **LOVINO!****"**

**/="Arni Village ~Home World~" from Chrono Cross=/**

Lovino was having a hard time walking on the road. True, it was usually because he was so used to dashing down the road without looking back. But it was also because of the damn idiot that was following him down the road with that annoying smile on his face. And…_**was he doodling in a NOTEBOOK?**_

"My god, you're so gay!" He chuckled.

"Eh? Why?" Feliciano asked.

"Who _draws_ these days?" He laughed. "I mean, come on! I can handle myself in battle, but what the heck do you do when you fight?"

"Eh? I draw." He answered.

"…are you serious." Lovino blinked. _**"Really?"**_

Feliciano stared at him with a blank look on his face, not catching on how in the world this was something he couldn't get in his head. After a few minutes, he turned and began sketching something in the notebook _(much to Lovino's displeasure)_. He stopped after a while, and before he knew it a big fluff ball with wings came out of the notebook and smacked Lovino in the face.

"**WAH!** What the-?"

"Ahahaha…he really likes you!"

"That's not what I-" Lovino pried him off. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"My notebook! I drew him and he came to life!" Feliciano got the fluff ball. "It's my ability!"

"What? You're a _Gekozen_ too?"

"Ve~~~of course I am!" Feliciano placed a hand on his heart. "My _Vitula_ is right here!"

"On your chest? Is that possible?" Lovino looked confused. "I've heard that guys who have one there die in about a week!"

"_**EHHHHHH?**_ B-but I'm twenty!" He jumped. "A-am I still alive? I-I'm not see through, right?"

He proceeded to go to every single person they crossed, asking _(well, more like __**BEGGING)**_ if they can see him. No matter how many "yes's" he got, he kept thinking that he was some form of undead. As a result, Lovino smacked him upside the head. The fluff ball took this as a major form of entertainment.

"See? I can hit you." He answered. "So can we now assume that you're alive?"

"Ve~~~I feel great to be alive…"

_God dammit, I made it worse._

Lovino took his sleeve and quietly dragged him through the city. After a few minutes, he was finally able to get him to the main square. There were two familiar figures in front of the message board, talking amongst themselves about a strange message on the board. The fluff ball shivered at the sight and quickly returned to the notebook.

"Hey, blond boy." Lovino lifted up Feliciano. "You mind handling this guy?"

"Feliciano?"

"Eh? Ludwig?" Feliciano darted his head up. "Yay! You're here!"

Feliciano jumped out _(more like wiggled out)_ of Lovino's grip and hugged Ludwig. Of course, the whole process took about five seconds, so Ludwig was barely able to stay on his feet. Kiku found it extremely funny to watch. Lovino only shook his head and sighed.

"F-Feliciano! Let me go!" Ludwig slowly pried his arms off him. "You don't do that to people you just met yesterday!"

"Ve~~~but we're friends, right?"

"Um…y-yeah, but-"

"That means we can hug, right?"

"U-uh…"

"Yes, of course that means you two can hug." Kiku turned toward the board. "I'll go look for a request, Ludwig. You can go hug your friend."

Ludwig didn't have anything to say: Feliciano was squeezing his waist yet again. Kiku merely chuckled and continued to look at the board. After a few seconds, Feliciano turned toward the board as well. What caught his attention was that another request was glowing in front of him. He quickly took it as he parted from Ludwig.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"What, got something already?" Lovino peeked over his shoulder. "Oh, it's just another monster extermination thing isn't it?"

"Ve~~~it looks easy to me…" He stated. "Eh? The edge is frayed…"

"This request must be days old." Kiku took it from Feliciano. "Someone must've already taken the job and forgot to take it off."

"Then go choose something else!" Lovino sighed. "It's not that big of a deal."

"But, Lovi-kun…it was calling me…"

"_**It's LOVINO, jackass!"**_

"Calling…you?" Ludwig blinked. "It's a piece of paper."

"Ve~~~I don't know how to phrase it, but…" Feliciano looked at it. "The same thing happened on the mission where I met you two."

"It was probably nothing, Feliciano. Scrap it." Lovino stated.

Feliciano stared back at the piece of paper, still seeing the warm yellow glow underneath his fingers. It was then that he noticed that the paper wasn't glowing: it was just one word. He took a skim at it and tried to read it out loud. During one attempt, the three of them gasped.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Feliciano looked up.

"You said _**Chikyuu**_, didn't you?" Lovino panicked.

"Um…is that how you say it?" He turned back to the paper. "Yeah, I think that's the phrase."

"It means 'world', but that's the name of a group, isn't it?" Kiku tried to confirm.

"It's one of their titles…_**Chikyuu**_…_**Welt**_…_**Mundo**_…but in proper terms, it's 'World'." Ludwig brought his fingers up to quote.

"A group? Who's in this…'group' that you speak of?" Feliciano copying the air quotes looked really cute.

"Are you serious? You never heard of them? Feli, they're some of the strongest _Gekozen _to date!" Lovino stated. "Have you at least heard of Alfred F. Jones?"

"Alfred? Ve~~~Húdié Mei and Matthew were talking about him…" He stated. "So he's one of us as well."

"Well, DUH! All four of them are undeniably powerful!" Lovino stated. "Alfred, Arthur, Francis, Antonio…man, what I would give to get a chance to fight them…"

_Seriously?_ Ludwig sighed.

"Ve~~~they must really like names with the letter A in them!"

…

"Hahaha…that does seem to be the case." Kiku chuckled.

"_Don't promote this, Kiku…"_ Ludwig sighed again. "No, that's not what it means…"

"**OF COURSE** that's what it means, my fellow _Gekozen!"_

**/="Kyoudan no Ichinichi" by Man=/**

That voice sent a whole wave of chills down their spines. They turned around and saw a blond figure waving at them, a grin bright enough to blind all of them for years. Feliciano saw Kiku bow in a form of respect and the other two shocked in fear, making him stare at the blond man again.

"Well, I haven't seen your face before!" The blond man jumped to Feliciano. "Are you new here?"

"Eh? U-uh, well…yeah." He answered, flustered. "J-just got here a few days ago…"

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, my man!" His hand shot out to him. "Call me Alfred F. Jones!"

Feliciano lifted his hand to shake, only greeted with a rapid movement of his arms _(in other words, Alfred is shaking Feliciano…period)_. He stared "ve~!"ing in panic, and the minute he was able to get off, he hid behind Ludwig with tears in his eyes. Everyone had to admit that he looked cute.

"_**Ve~~~~~~!**_ P-please don't hurt me…" He whimpered.

"**OI!** Alfred, you jerk! Keep your ego to yourself!" Lovino stepped in.

"Dude, did I startle you? Sorry, man. _Vitula_ likes to act on itself sometimes!"

Feliciano looked up, vaguely seeing a faint glow beneath Alfred's gloves. He quickly realized that it must've been his _Vitula_ activating. Grumbling echoed behind them, and he noticed a man walking toward the group. What caught his attention was this guy's _**massive eyebrows**_, causing him to shrink back behind Ludwig and Lovino to laugh out loud.

"Holy hell!" He chuckled out. "The Pumpkin King approaches!"

"W-what did you just call me?" The other man spat.

"What? Do you rather prefer Pumpkin King or Bushy Brows?"

"Why I oughta-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down there Arthur! You're scaring the new guy over there."

Arthur pouted as he directed his gaze to where Alfred was pointing. Unfortunately for Feliciano, he was pointing directly at him. Of course, the menacing eyebrows was all it took for the poor boy to burrow deeper in Ludwig's arm. Their gazes didn't break, as Arthur had a look of strange interest on his face _(it was either interest or concern)_. It was then that Feliciano felt his _Vitula_ pulse as two symbols shone in Arthur's eyes. He hid himself even further as he clutched a hand on his chest.

_W-what's going on…?_ He panicked. _This sensation…it's the same as back in the caverns…oh god, it hurts!_

He flipped his back onto Ludwig, trying his best not to express any pain on his face. Ludwig turned around, thinking that Feliciano was just intimidated, and saw the sweat rolling down his face. The grip on his sleeve was starting to waver in strength.

"I must say, you really are scaring Feliciano."

That voice snapped everything back together. Arthur's gaze turned toward the source of the sound as Feliciano felt the pain alleviate, leaving only deep breaths. Slowly, he turned around and saw a concerned look on Kiku's face. Leave it to him to know when to step in. Feliciano took another deep breath and gave a reassuring nod toward him.

"He's quite shy when it comes to intimidating people." Kiku responded, turning back to the other man. "I would advise not to stare at him so much."

"W-was I scaring him?" The other man asked.

"U-um…just a little." Feliciano lied, turning slowly toward the other man. "But…I'm OK now! My name is Feliciano Vargas!"

He extended his hand toward the other man, still somewhat wary if the strange pain would come back again. Soon enough, the blond man took the handshake. Nothing happened, past the usual warm sensation of another person's hand in his.

"Arthur Kirkland." He responded. "Alfred here hasn't scared you much, has he?"

"J-just a little." Feliciano chuckled, holding his hand.

"Aw, come on! I didn't scare you that much!"

"_**You took his handshake and SHOOK HIM **__**LIKE A RATTLE, jackass**__**!"**_ Lovino screamed.

"Hey, it was purely by accident!"

"Feliciano jumped out of your hand and hid behind me." Ludwig stated. "You scared him."

"Oh, did I then?" He turned to him. "Sorry, bro."

"I-It's OK, really! Honest mistake!" Feliciano said, secretly wondering if Alfred would toss him if he said otherwise.

"Well, I'm sorry that we took up so much of your time, but we must be going." Arthur stated, turning to Alfred. "I'll have to talk to you later."

"All's good and well, bro!"

The four of them watched as the both of them walked away from the group, a piece of paper in their hands. Feliciano looked back to the one in his hand and realized that the glowing had faded away. He looked back up, confused. _What was that all about?_

"Those two were jerks." Lovino sighed.

"Well, in all due respect, you were kind of a jerk to them." Kiku stated.

"C-cause they were a jerk to us too!"

**/="Organization XIII" by Kingdom Hearts Two=/**

"Man, those four are a funny bunch!" Alfred chuckled. "Especially that Feliciano dude…he acts like such a girl!"

"Feliciano Vargas…"

"Hm?"

_There was something weird about Feliciano back there…it might've been a Vitula reacting with mine, but this is the strongest reaction that I've ever seen…_ He rubbed his chin. _And his aura isn't anything that I've ever seen before. He's not an ordinary Gekozen…but…_

"Yo. Earth to Bushy Brows. You in there?"

"Tch…don't call me Bushy Brows!"

"You were out of it. It's the only thing bringing you back to reality, right? Now come on! Francis and Antonio are waiting for us!"

"Right…right, of course." _It's probably nothing._

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[OPTIONS] [LANGUAGE]=/**

**Even more translations!**

**[**Buon giorno!**] ITALIAN-**_ Good morning!_

**[**Chikyuu**] JAPANESE-** _World_ (The actual spelling is Chikyū, but I hate typing symbols.)

**[**Welt**] GERMAN-** _World_

**[**Mundo**] SPANISH-** _World_

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**And some more powers for the world!**

**[ALFRED]- **_Super Strength. Bullets bounce right off him._ Vitula: Back of hands

**[ARTHUR]-** _Sees the dead and auras._ Vitula: Behind the retinas

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING...**

**...**

**...**

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING REQUEST FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE...**

**/=+=/**

**HOLA! Have I got a request for YOU, the readers **_**(more importantly, the ones that actually bother to listen to the music I list while you read)**_**. I NEED OSTs! The ones that I've been using a lot are [**Tales series**], [**Final Fantasy**], [**Chrono Cross**], [**Kingdom Hearts**] and [**Hetalia**]. Recently, I've been looking into the [** Man**] OST and have included it to the list. But what I want from you: what's the best anime and video game OST you heard thus far? Their songs might be in here!**


	7. Return of the Masked Man

**I DO NOT OWN HETALIA OR THE MUSIC IN THIS FANFICTION. HELL, I DON'T EVEN OWN THE IDEA. PROPS GO TO WHOEVER FIGURES THAT OUT **_**(and perhaps a One-Shot of their choice…as long as it's T-Rated or lower)**_**. By the way, this chapter takes place a week after the last one, JSYK.**

**/=LOADING...=/**

**/="Laughter and Merriment" by Kingdom Hearts Two=/**

"Ve~~Lovino! What can we do today?"

"Tch…none of this is worth our time." He leaned back. "I say we level back for today."

"Eh? But Lovi-kun, do we have enough money for food tonight?"

"**It's Lovino…"**

Feliciano stared at him in confusion as they walked away from the message board. It had only been a week since Lovino had lived with him, and Feliciano knew enough to know that he would always try to prove to everyone that he was a brave man. He really wasn't. Feliciano wasn't anywhere close to Lovino's bravery level, but being around him always makes him swallow up his fears.

_Ve~~~he really is like a brother, isn't he?_ "Ne, fratello-san…if we're not doing anything today, what do you want to do?"

"Well, I-" He froze. "Did you just call me fratello?"

"Ve~~~we are brothers, no?"

"Ggk…F-Feliciano, we aren't even related by blood! You don't call anyone fratello unless you're blood related!"

"Oh…well…that means I don't have any blood relatives..."

Lovino stared at Feliciano as he drew a little circle on the ground with the tip of his shoe. He had to admit, he did look kind of cute. He shook his head as he proceeded down the street, only successful in hearing sobs in front of them. They headed forward and saw a familiar masked person standing in front of a sobbing figure on the ground.

**/="Vim and Vigor" by Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep=/**

_S-Sadiq!_ Feliciano gasped. _What's he doing here?_

"Hey, what are you complaining about? I'm going to do your request. What's so bad about it?" He asked, a sneer on his face.

"T-that's way too much for me! I can't pay that amount!"

"Well then, you're going to have to pay up somehow, cause I'm going to do it!" He turned around. "I hope you have the money when I get back!"

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, he turned around and walked away from the figure. Feliciano quickly dashed forward _(despite Lovino's claim to stay back)_ and leaned toward the crying figure. It was a young boy with blond curly hair and strange violet eyes and a red outfit.

"A-are you OK?" He asked.

The boy sniffed, looking up toward Feliciano with watering eyes. He quickly wiped his eyes and stood up quickly. Feliciano compared his height with Lovino and saw that he was extremely short. From the sound of it, his voice hadn't even cracked yet.

"E-Eduard…and Toris…they said that they were going to be coming back from **Brittaniya Dyhanie** and they haven't come back yet…"

"Then wait for them." Lovino sighed. "You don't have to go whining to other people about it."

"T-they were gone for a whole week…they should've been back by now…"

"T-that's not good!" Feliciano stood up. "And Sadiq there…what is he going to do?"

"He said that he was going to help me…but then he demanded that I give him *2,000,000 in return!"

"*2,000,000? Wow, you really are screwed over the head!" Lovino chuckled. "No one has that type of pocket cash!"

"I know that! B-but I can't go find them alone in the forest…the monsters there have gotten berserk lately and I can't handle them by myself…"

It was then that Feliciano saw something interesting: a _Vitula_ cleverly hidden in the collar of his neck. It looked smaller than what he was used to seeing, but it allowed him to make one conclusion: he was definitely one of them. Grinning, he placed a hand on the boy's back.

"What's your name?"

"E-eh? I-it's Raivis, sir…Raivis Galante."

"Raivis…my name is Feliciano Vargas. He's Lovino, mi fratello."

"_**Hey! You're not my brother!"**_

"And we're here to help you." He smiled. "We're going to accompany you in the forest!"

"Y-you'll what?"

"**WE'LL **_**WHAAAATT?**__**"**_

"And don't worry! We won't ask for too much for a reward and will only demand that you're happy after we're done!"

"O-oi! Feliciano! What the hell are you doing here?"

"What? We don't have a job today, so we might as well do so!" He pointed to Raivis. "And I don't want to leave him dangling like this!"

"Augh, what I have to do with you!" Lovino stopped ruffling his hair. "OK, fine. I'll go along! But not before we get someone else with us! Preferably someone who knows what they're doing in there!"

"Ve~? I thought you knew what Brittaniya Dyhanie looked like!"

"Well, I don't!" He pointed toward Raivis. "You! Do you have a clue?"

"N-no sir…"

"_**GOD DAMMIT! ARRRGGGHHH!"**_

Feliciano stood there watching his brother going through a massive panic attack. Muttering was heard from behind him, and he turned his head to see two familiar figures holding bags and talking about their next mission. That's when a bright idea popped into his head.

"Matthew! Seyel!" He waved them over.

"Oh, Feliciano!" Seyel walked to him. "I haven't seen you in so long! What's up?"

"I wanted to ask any of you if you know where Brittaniya Dyhanie is!" He folded his hands. "Pleeeaasse say yes! My friend Raivis here is going to be in terrible debt if we don't find this place soon!"

"_Oh, perfect timing. We were going to head over there ourselves."_ Matthew smiled. _"If you want, we can team up."_

"Ve~~~! That sounds like a great idea!" He turned to Raivis. "What do you think?"

"I-I think that's a great idea!" He said. "Thank you all!"

"**OI!** Do I have a say in this?"

"No, you don't." Seyel suddenly blurted out. "Now shut up and follow us."

Everyone stared at her as she started walking toward the city entrance. Lovino was the first to turn his head toward Matthew, who looked oddly calm about what just happened. He turned back to the frightened man and chuckled softly, confusing everyone even more.

"_She does that to everyone who complains. Don't worry about it."_ He turned to Feliciano. _"Are you ready to head out?"_

"More than ever!" He answered. "Let's go!"

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[OPTIONS] [LANGUAGE]=/**

**Hi. Translations. Bye.**

**[**Brittaniya Dyhanie, spelt as Бриттания дыхание**] RUSSIAN- **_Britannia's Breath_ (Named because Russia is the biggest country in the world and hence has the biggest and most flourishing forests in the European region. It has been dubbed to be the "lungs of Europe", hence this name)

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING...**

**...**

**...**

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE.**

**/=+=/**

**Short chapter. Sorry 'bout that. Yeah, the Baltic Trio is finally here! The Nordics will be having their screen time, don't worry about them just yet!**


	8. Britannian's Breath

**Welcome back to yet another exciting chapter of the Fantasy Story! Feliciano has gathered his group and they are now heading over to Brittaniya Dyhanie to help little Raivis Galante **_**(that's Latvia, if no one knew that)**_** save the rest of the Baltic Trio!**

**/=LOADING...=/**

**/="Cloudchasers" by Kingdom Hearts Two=/**

"Ve~~~this is a really big place!"

"_Yeah, that's why this place has such a majestic name."_ Matthew looked up. _"Brittaniya Dyhanie…the breath of the angel Britannia."_

"Oh, I've heard that legend before…" Raivis walked next to him. "Isn't that the guardian of the _Sceptrum Angelis_ or something?"

Feliciano tuned them out of his head as he continued to marvel at the trees around them. They all held a strange shade of teal/emerald that he had never seen before, shining as if they had just been through a sun shower. He looked back down to his notebook, doodling something using nothing but blue and green crayons.

"**OI, **Feliciano!" Lovino screamed at him. "Pay attention or we'll leave you behind!"

"Uwaaa! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll be right there!"

**/=+=/**

The sky took a strange dark blue as they headed deeper into the forest. The trees were reaching over their heads, and if he closed his eyes he could actually hear faint singing. Raivis never left Seyel's, quietly clinging onto the helm of her skirt and making sure that he kept up with the others. After a few minutes, he looked up to her.

"Um…excuse me, miss…but what exactly are you supposed to be doing here?"

"We're just looking for Emerald Bark, nothing impressive." She answered. "The herbalist asked us if we could fetch a bit of it-"

"Emerald Bark? _**Really?"**_ Lovino turned to them. "That's freakin' RARE around here!"

"Oh? You know about it?" She asked him.

"Of course I've known about it! Rumors about stuff like that always pass by you when you wander." He folded his arms. "Emerald Bark is a manipulation of the mana structure of regular tree bark when _Gekozen_ activate their _Vitula!_ It's rare because only certain _Gekozen_ can cause that manipulation to work!"

…

"You have no idea what half of that meant, did you?"

"I-I'm slowing getting it! Don't rush me!"

"_Hey, Seyel. I found a good amount of them."_

Everyone blinked, wondering if anyone said anything. Feliciano turned his head and saw that Matthew was staring at one of the beautiful trees. He tapped the branch, and instantly he saw his _Vitula_ shine from the back of his head. Almost as if it was a command, the bark that he was touching instantly turned a shining green color. He was taken aback.

"Ve~~~th-that's Emerald Bark? It looks more like a gem…"

"_That's where its name was derived from, Feliciano."_ Matthew peeled off a bit of it. _"When harvested, it has the glow of mined emeralds."_

Feliciano stared at the bark, marveling at its color. After a few minutes, he jumped to the nearest tree and slapped both his hands on it. Lovino was about to say something when he saw his _Vitula_ glow. Feliciano removed his hands, and saw that both sections have been turned. He laughed.

"Is this enough, Seyel?"

"Y-yeah, that's good enough…" She went over to take it.

He stepped back as Seyel slowly peeled off the Emerald Bark from the tree. As that was going on, he turned his head and saw Raivis looking around nervously for any signs of his friends. Half the time, he was rubbing the _Vitula_ on his neck with either his finger or his entire hand.

"We're going to find them, Raivis. Don't worry about them!" He chirped.

"I really hope so…" He answered, shaking. "I heard that the monsters here are really scary…"

Feliciano was about to question what that meant when he heard Lovino scream. He turned his head and saw a huge bird-like creature hovering over them, screeching as if they had just passed through its territory. Before he had a chance to react, however, he noticed Raivis's _Vitula_ glowing from his neck.

"Please stand back!" He said.

Confused, he took a step back, far away from his radius. Raivis took a deep breath as the winged beast took a notice of him. His _Vitula_ began to brighten, and then Feliciano watched as he exhaled _**a huge tornado from his mouth**_. It blew the bird back a bit, but it didn't seem to obtain any harm.

"I-I startled him, but…I can't finish him off!" Raivis backed up.

"That's all I need!" Lovino stomped the ground with both his feet. "This is for startling the hell out of me, jackass! _**Tornado Blow!"**_

He jumped straight in the air, spinning rapidly as his legs smacked the bird's head so much that it began to spin as well. After a few minutes of that form of torture, the bird quickly flew away in defeat. Lovino landed and grinned in triumph, his _Vitula_ slowly fading from his legs.

"That's what you get for pissing me off!" He yelled in response. "So! Are you done there?"

"Yeah, we're good." Seyel answered. "We better go find Raivis's friends now."

"Yeah, we should…" Raivis took a deep breath, rubbing his neck again.

**/= "Kanashimi no Tamashii" by D. Gray Man=/**

"_So, Raivis…your Vitula gives you control of the wind, right?"_

"Yeah, that's about it in a nutshell. Though I'm still not that good, so I can't really do anything else with it."

"_It's still pretty impressive…it had to have been useful to you."_

"Sometimes. Mainly when it has to do with windmills and stuff." Raivis chuckled. "All somewhat useless when I really need it…"

"_D-don't think that way. I thought the same thing when I learned that all I could do is turn invisible…"_ Matthew chuckled. _"Now it's a valuable asset to every job that I take. Never doubt what the Sigillato Attraversa grants you."_

"I guess so…"

Feliciano chuckled with their small conversation, rubbing his chest where his _Vitula_ was. No doubt what the scepter thingy gave him was a very valuable skill indeed, drawing things to life and summoning them at his will. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if having such a powerful ability caused his memory loss to occur. He wouldn't be surprised…he'd be terrified out of his right mind, but not surprised.

"Hey, uh…" Lovino looked around. "Where the fuck are we?"

"It's a clearing." Seyel looked around. "Wow, this place looks beautiful when you're not surrounded by trees that are a shoulder's length away!"

"Yeah, that is true…" Raivis smiled and spun around. "I really hope my friends passed through here…this is something they really need to see."

Feliciano wanted to answer him, but only had the attention to nod and hum acceptance. Before he knew it, he felt a chill down his spine. Lovino caught on as well, as he pounded his fists together. They looked up and saw that Sadiq was hovering over them with a grin on his face.

"Aw, you came here just to pay me early? How nice!" He laughed. "Don't worry, boy! I'm going to find those guys and bring them back to you safe and sound!"

"W-we don't…need your help!" Raivis stuttered out. "Uh…"

"Yeah, cause we're taking on the mission!" Seyel pulled out her rod.

"Really, don't push yourself. I can handle it…as long as you can pay." Sadiq grinned.

"That's the point…he can't pay." Feliciano found himself being oddly brave. That's a new concept. "So sorry to say this, but we're talking over!"

Sadiq merely shook his head and sighed as more birds started to fly from behind him. It was the only thing they needed to see to know that they were going to get attacked. Feliciano jumped in front of everyone as the birds cawed up and began their attack on the others.

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[OPTIONS] [MEMO]=/**

**Well, now that we have a good clue on what is going on, now's the time for more super powers!**

**[RAIVIS]-** _Can generate winds from his arm movement and his breath alone. At his power level, he can only stun and not damage._Vitula: Side of the neck


	9. Roundabout the Emerald Woods

**So last time we checked up, Feliciano and his group were being attacked by Sadiq and his group of bird monster things. Can he beat the heck out of them, or will Feliciano save the day? Well, it's the eighth chapter, so I guess you know what's going on, so…read anyway.**

**/=LOADING...=/**

**/= "Fighting of the Spirit" by Tales of Symphonia=/**

Everyone jumped out of the way as one of the bigger birds charged beak first into the ground. Feliciano paused and realized that he had actually carried Raivis with him while in midair. Confused, he looked up and saw that Matthew and Lovino were actually wresting / beating up as many birds as were charging toward them.

"Are you all right?" Feliciano asked.

"I-I'm fine." He answered.

"OK, that's good." He let him go. "All right then, back up a minute."

Raivis stared at him in confusion as he placed his hand on the notebook that was tucked cleanly into his bag. His Vitula started to glow, travelling down to his hand as it extracted a light from his fingers. Instantly, a golden portal erupted in front of them. Raivis jumped back in shock as Feliciano jumped right through it. He instantly transformed into an angel in a maiden's robes, charging toward one of the birds.

_Wow...Feliciano…_

He stood up and watched as Feliciano in his angel form started to fight off as many of the birds as he could on his way toward Sadiq. Instantly, he noticed that there were three birds right on his back. He gasped and shivered, before swallowing his fear and dashing forward toward them. He took one long breath and let it out. The birds instantly flew away, but for some reason Feliciano was unharmed.

"What the heck?" Sadiq blinked in curiousity. "How did you-?"

"_**You don't have to know that."**_ He answered, his voice having a strange echo to it. _**"All you need to know…is that you have to leave."**_

Sadiq said nothing, only proceeding to jump in the air with a saber to his side. Quickly, the angel ran through another portal, transforming back to Feliciano with his tomato blade _(which, of course, caused Lovino to take a second glance)_. They were literally dueling in midair, one clang after another.

"_Feliciano…"_ Matthew was in awe. _"He wasn't like this last time…"_

Before anyone could figure out what was going on, he had succeeded in fighting him off. Sadiq flew back from his attack and landed on the back on one of his birds. It was around then that Feliciano remembered that he was freefalling in the air. Lovino was quick to respond, jumping high in the air and catching him meters before hitting the ground.

"Not bad! I underestimated you…then again, it's not that hard!" Sadiq grinned. "All right then. You can have your victory! Just don't expect to have the last laugh!"

**/="Friends in my Heart" by Kingdom Hearts II=/**

All the birds surrounded him as the huge flock started to fly away from them. No one was paying much attention to his retreat, focusing only on Feliciano and making sure that he was OK. Raivis was the first person to get to them, and he could barely see Lovino's activated _Vitula_ fade from his legs as he straightened the both of them.

"_Che…you're retarted for jumping in like that without preplanning, fratello…"_

"_I-I couldn't just stand there, so I-"_ He paused. "Y-you called me fratello!"

"W-wha-?"

"You called me fratello! Now we're brothers, aren't we?"

"Wha-? Hey! _**GET THE HELL OFF ME!"**_

"Ve~~~I love you, Lovi-kun!"

"_**For the last fucking time, **__**IT'S LOVINO**__**!"**_

"Eh? Are those voices? Hello?"

Raivis's ears caught that voice and darted his head around. Feliciano looked up in confusion and saw that two figures were wandering toward them. One of them had semi-long brown hair and green eyes, straightening out his brown vest and pants as he came out of the bushes. The other one had dark blond hair and green eyes as well, adjusting his green military suit. Both of them were covered with dirt and branches and had a semi-filled bag of something…

"E-Eduard! Toris!" He chirped. "You're all OK!"

"Just barely…" The brunette shook off more dirt. "We had a run-in with some monsters and got lost…thank god we heard you guys or we'd be wandering still."

"I was so worried about you!" Raivis wiped his tears. "I…I thought that you…"

"That would explain why you're here." The blond man stated, straightening his glasses. "Last time I checked, you were too scared to come with us."

"I-I was! Why do you think I brought them with us?"

The two of them looked up and saw the rest of the group staring back at them with blank looks in their faces. As always, Feliciano was the first to respond. He let go of his brother _(who responded with sighing and thanking the gods that he let go)_ and walked up to the group.

"You two must be the ones Raivis was looking for!" He extended his hand. "My name is Feliciano Vargas! It's nice to meet you!"

"My name is Eduard von Bock." The blond shook his hand. "The man next to me is Toris Laurinatis."

"Pleased to meet you all!"

Feliciano continued to shake Eduard's hand in disbelief, until everyone realized something: none of them had any idea how to get out of the forest. Feliciano didn't seem to notice, shaking his hand and thinking that everyone was just marveling at how they were bonding so quickly.

"Uh…" Feliciano looked around. "How do we get out of here?"

"…You don't have a plan?" Lovino blinked.

"I-I thought you guys did!"

"And now we're fucking lost…" Lovino grumbled.

"_No. We're fine."_ Matthew stated, somewhat surprised. _"I know how to get out of here."_

Everyone looked at him with a blank look on their faces. Before they could ask anything, they saw one of Sadiq's birds hovering over his arm. His _Vitula_ was glowing brilliantly on the scalp of his head, and he was quietly talking to the bird he was holding. Suddenly, it flew up in the air.

"_Just follow the wings."_ He answered.

"…OK, who are you?" Toris asked.

"…_Matthew…"_

**/="The Theme of a New Character Joining" by RomaHeta=/**

"Finally, we're back in society!" Toris stretched his arms. "It was way too long in there…"

"I have to thank you all again for helping us out of there." Eduard smiled. "There really isn't anything we can do to repay you-"

"N-no, really!" Feliciano's hands waved. "We can't accept anything, really! We weren't expecting a reward at all!"

"All we really needed to see was Sadiq getting his butt handed to him." Seyel chuckled. "We don't need a-"

"**AUUUGGH!"** Lovino cringed. "I'm so _**hungry!"**_

"F-fratello!" Feliciano panicked.

"_Don't worry about it. We have to go deliver the Emerald Bark to our client, anyway."_ Matthew chuckled. _"We'll go treat everyone for lunch afterwards."_

**/=+=/**

**Wow…that was a short chapter. Oh well.**


	10. Vision at the Coffee Table

**So Feliciano has saved his client yet again. And you know what happens next? LUNCH!**

**/="Emotion" by Ar Tonelico II=/**

He sat peacefully at one of the tables, waiting for the others to come with the promised lunch. For the heck of it, he began to doodle in his notebook with his pencil. He recalled those birds that Sadiq was controlling earlier, and decided to try drawing them. Instead, when he distanced the book from his eyes, he saw that a few details were off.

_Ve~~I don't remember it having six wings…_

Since it was different from what he remembered, he decided that he might as well color it his own way. Before he knew it, it ended up looking nothing like the birds he saw and instead looked more like a mutated dove with a Mardi Gras mask. At least it looked pretty cool. That's when he realized that there was a strange mark on the mask, right on the forehead.

"I don't remember drawing that…" He blinked.

He took a good stare at it, the mark looking oddly familiar to him. It was only after he had an itch in his neck that he recalled that the mark was similar to his _Vitula_, only a lot more complicated and detailed than the one on his chest. Slowly, he lifted up a finger and touched the center of the star.

**/="Pandora Hearts" by Pandora Hearts=/**

_Symbols swirled around his eyes…_

_Reaching out to one that looks like his…_

_W-was he on __**FIRE?**__ Why doesn't it hurt, though?_

…_**Feliciano…**_

_There's a screaming child in front of him…he has to help him somehow._

_**[Why, though?]**_

"_I…I don't know why. I…just know it's right."_

_**[Being morally right isn't the same as protecting yourself.]**_

_The child was covered with black marks…pathetically covered with a black robe and covered tears…_

"_D-damn you…why did you do this to me…?"_

…_**Feliciano…**_

_Huh? There's a figure standing in front of me. The symbols look like they were his wings…_

…

…

**["He who works in its name will never know its secrets…"]**

…_**Feliciano…**_

…_someone's calling me…he sounds so familiar…_

**/="Emotion" by Ar Tonelico II=/**

"Hey! _**Hey!**_ Feliciano, talk to me!"

He barely heard a voice calling to him, shaking his shoulders rapidly and calling out his name. He knew it was Lovino, that was all he can recall. Feliciano knew that he had to respond to him, but for some reason he couldn't find the energy to move at all. Halfway through that thought, he realized that he wasn't breathing at all.

_Wait…he's not __**BREATHING?**_

"W-what's going on? What's happening?"

"He just passed out! And he's not breathing!"

"Not breathing? How's that _**possible?"**_

Why wasn't he panicking? For some reason, he couldn't feel anything, physically and emotionally. What's going on?

_**...Feliciano…**_

_I-It's that voice again…_

Barely had that voice called to him that he suddenly felt himself jerk upward, air shooting down his lungs. His eyes cleared up, and he saw the concerned look of Lovino staring right back at him. Everyone else had surrounded him in concern, shocked that he suddenly came back to life.

"Feliciano!" Lovino screamed in his face. "Answer me! Can you speak?"

"…_Lovi-kun…"_ He whispered, wiping his eyes. "Ve~~~what happened?"

"You just passed out and stopped breathing all of a sudden!" Raivis stated. "Are you sure you're OK?"

"I…don't feel different." He answered. "I'm OK."

"How can you be so calm at a time like this?" Lovino growled. "You were dead for _five seconds!"_

That thought smacked him for a few minutes. Why wasn't he panicking at that fact? That's when he suddenly felt emotion run through his veins. He immediately became terrified at the thought that he was dead, and the sadness he felt toward that boy from his vision…

"I-I'm fine, Lovino." He answered again. "Just a little hungry…"

"Che…" Lovino stood up. "I can't buy that!"

"Let's not worry about that now…" Eduard said. "We bought you food."

"Ve~~~thank you!"

Feliciano looked at the beautiful assortment of food in front of him _(which consisted of pasta and meatballs…who could guess)_ and started gobbling it all down as the others sat down and slowly consumed their meals as well. Of course, Matthew couldn't help but be worried about Feliciano's state of health.

"_Are you sure you're OK?"_

"I'll be OK. Thank you for asking." He bit into the pasta. _AWESOME. _"Ve~~~how did the client respond to you?"

"_They were happy that they got what they wanted. That was about it."_ He chuckled.

"Oh, speaking of which…" Seyel turned to the others. "What were you two doing in Brittaniya Dyhanie anyway?"

"We were just doing a small scouting mission. They wanted thirteen Henrite Feathers for a project of theirs." Eduard stated. "We just got lost on the way back…so most likely there is someone else doing their job."

"Actually, I was able to contact them before we got here." Toris stated. "They're going to meet up with us here."

"Huh." Seyel folded her hands. "I actually want to meet these people…"

The two brothers could hardly care less: the food was all they wanted, really. As they were consuming their lunch, Feliciano's mind started to spin around the strange images that he had during his…whatever the hell it was. The symbols looked like _Vitula…_but whoever that boy was…

"Your breasts belong to _**me,**_ da ze!"

_Oh s-_

Something came from behind and instantly grabbed his chest, causing him to scream and jump up to his feet. Lovino stood up to react, only to see the person that was grabbing Feliciano's breasts. And by the looks of things…he was enjoying every single moment of this.

"Y-Yong Soo!" Feliciano gasped.

"Heeey, I didn't think I'd see you again!" Yong Soo straightened himself up. "This is great! I was missing you!"

"N-nice to see you too…"

"Yong Soo! Behave yourself!"

That low voice made him immediately straighten himself up like a soldier _(was it in a mocking fashion? He never figured it out)_. Looking around, he saw two other familiar figures walking toward them with their gazes stuck on Yong Soo. Once they looked up, that's when he saw their faces.

"Yïngguó Shi! Húdié Mei!" He gasped.

"Feliciano? Oh wow, I didn't see you there!" Húdié Mei grinned. "How are things?"

"I've been doing well." He answered. "Is that the person you were giving the job to?"

"Yes, actually!" She went to them. "Give me a minute."

Instantly, the two of them went over to Toris and Eduard and talked about their mission. Feliciano stared at them for a few minutes before turning his head toward his half-eaten lunch. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled to the side and saw that Yong Soo wanted to talk to him. He followed.

"_Hey, when we were talking to those two, they said that you were beating the heck out of the dude that was making fun of Raivis there!"_ Yong Soo stated. _"Is that true?"_

"Uh…well, I was able to fight him off…if that's what you mean." He answered. "Why?"

"I knew it! I knew there was something interesting with you!" Yong Soo tapped his nose. "We should form a guild!"

"A guild?" Feliciano blinked. "What's that?"

"Basically it's a group of people who work together on missions, da ze! I've always wanted to start one, but a lot of people would just join the church or something when they want to be associated with something." Yong Soo folded his arms. "We should start a guild, just you and me! We'll be a third party!"

"…that sounds fun!" Feliciano chirped. "We can start something!"

"Awesome! Don't worry, da ze! I'll handle sending out the word about us!" Yong Soo lifted his hand up in the air. "You just do what you do best!"

"…which is…?"

"Duh! Doing missions!" He got his shoulder. "Hold up, I'm spreading the message across!"

Feliciano looked confused as Yong Soo suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the lunch table, watching as everyone was finishing their meals and the final deal was being made between the client and the job taker. Yong Soo slammed his hands on the table, catching their attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen…I have an announcement!" He chirped. "Me and Feliciano are starting our own guild!"

"Your own guild?" Seyel looked confused.

"What, you're gonna try competing against the church and the free-loaders?" Lovino folded his arms.

"Duh! We charge cheap, da ze! We'll get up there in no time!" Yong Soo wrapped his arm around Feliciano's shoulder. "So who's in?"

"_I don't see a problem with that."_ Matthew smiled. _"I'm in."_

"I want to try this out." Seyel grinned. "It sounds fun."

"A guild? What, does that mean that we can be a really big group?" Húdié Mei asked.

"Something like Chikyuu…only a lot cooler!" Yong Soo chirped. "You know why? Because I started it!"

"I can_not_ trust you alone with an idea this big." Yïngguó Shi sighed. "As long as you're not the leader."

"Course I'm not!" He laughed. "Feli-ku here is!"

"_**WHAT?"**_ Feliciano jumped.

"Then I'm in."

"Y-Yong Soo…! I don't know anything about running a guild!" He panicked.

"You'll just be the figurehead, the leader in all the missions. I'm doing all the dirty work!" Yong Soo grinned. "Cuz confusion originated in _**me~!"**_

OK, what?

"Of course you can't run this." Lovino shook his head. "This is completely stupid…"

"Which means _**you're **_in it!"

"_**NO!**_ I don't know who the hell you are, but **I'M NOT GETTING INVOLVED!"**

"Ve~~~come on, fratello…this sounds fun!"

"For the last time, **I AM NOT YOUR BROTHER!"**

"Come on, Lovi-kun…"

"_**IT'S **__**LOVINO**__**!"**_

"They're going to be going on for a while…" Eduard sighed. "Perhaps the three of us should accompany them?"

"I don't mind. They seem nice enough." Toris smiled.

"Besides…" Raivis quietly chuckled. "Seeing those two argue is funny…"

"Yes…" Seyel smiled. "They do argue like brothers, don't they?"

"_**WE'RE NOT BROTHERS!"**_

"Riiiiight…"

"**DAMMIT YOU THICK-BROWED JERKWAD! I OUGHTA-!"**

"So, Feli-ku! Our guild needs a name!" Yong Soo slapped his back. "You should choose it!"

Feliciano seemed taken aback by that random statement. Suddenly, he felt a strange thought cross his mind. Maybe it came in with the strange blanking out he had earlier. Maybe it didn't. But something was telling him that by choosing a name, he was going to change his destiny forever…or something corny like that. He took a deep breath and said the first word that came to mind.

"…Hetalia."

**/="Grand Fonic Hymn (Music Box Version)" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

"For freakin' sake, Feliciano…you can't be suckered into crap this easily!"

"No? But I think this sounds fun, Lovino…"

"Geez, fratello…whatever happened to you messed up your head…"

Feliciano couldn't help but chuckle as Lovino plopped on the couch, grumbling some choice words. By the looks of things, Lovino would only call him his brother privately. Maybe he wasn't used to having companions? But enough about that. Bringing up what happened back there brought back those memories again. He sat quietly next to him, catching Lovino's attention.

"What the hell is it now?"

"…back there…at the plaza…" He said. "Something…happened to me."

"Of course something happened to you, douche. You passed out! You stopped breathing!"

"I-I know that, I know that! I mean…something else happened…" Feliciano looked away. "I…saw things."

"What, like a vision or something?" Lovino 'che-d' and turned his head. "Please. You were dead on the table-"

"There were symbols, spinning around me like they were a kaleidoscope…and I kept hearing a voice that was calling my name…" Feliciano lifted his hands and moved them as if he was moving a globe. "And there was some boy in front of me…with a really strange _Vitula_ and was covering himself with a black robe…"

"A black robe…" Lovino looked at him with a blank look on his face. "Hey, was there anything on that robe, like any of your symbols or something?"

"S-symbols? Uh…" Feliciano pouted in thought. "T-there was a metal cross…pinning it around his neck."

"Huh…that's interesting…" Lovino's voice drifted.

"W-what's wrong, fratello?"

"I was just remembering something…some huge issue concerning the Church and TriPenta a few years ago…"

"T-TriPenta?"

"The second largest guild in the world, rivaling the Church if it was even possible." Lovino sighed. "Apparently they had a huge debate with the Church concerning the Gekozen or something like that…can't remember why, exactly."

Feliciano stared at him with a strange look on his face, wondering what he meant by that, when he heard the door knock. He immediately jumped to his feet and headed toward the door, swinging it open without really caring. It was then that he saw a familiar figure at the door.

"Am I intruding on something important?"

"No, of course not Kiku!" He chirped. "Did you want something?"

"I've heard from Yong Soo that you were starting a guild, am I correct?"

"Y-yeah!" He stood up tall, trying to at least look important. "We're the Guild of Hetalia, at your service!"

"_**Are you SERIOUSLY keeping that name?"**_

"Ve~~? You don't like it, Lovi-kun?"

"It's _**LOVINO**__**!"**_

"Anyway, what can we do for you?"

"Actually, I was wondering if me and Ludwig can join your service."

Just the very mention of Ludwig's name sent a strange shiver down Feliciano's spine _(why, though?)_. The strange voice that was calling to him before started up again, calling him once…twice…before finally leaving him alone. He grinned, happy that Kiku didn't seem to catch on.

"Of course you can! Just…uh…" Feliciano paused. "Talk to Yong Soo about it…we, uh…haven't figured out how it works…"

"That's fine. I just wanted to see if recruitment is available." He bowed. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

And with a ninja poof, he was gone. By the somewhat girlish scream that echoed behind Feliciano's back, Lovino had actually watched that occur.

"I-I didn't scream!"

Suuuuure you didn't.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME AT THIS POINT?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**There you go! Long chapter! It's been a while since I wrote a chapter more than two thousand words long **_**(that was the finale of Holy Roman Empire, I believe)**_**. And yeah…important plot points!**


	11. The Creation Project

**Another chapter of the Fantasy Story, guys! I'm actually shocked at the amount of people that read this, since the idea seemed more like HetaQuest now that I look at it…oh well, let's see what happens!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Rest Day" by Tales of Destiny=/**

When Feliciano woke up that morning, someone was knocking on his door.

And knocking.

And knocking.

And-

"Argh, will someone please _**open the damn door?"**_

Looks like it's his turn.

Feliciano stretched his limbs as he sat up from his bed. He looked down at himself to make sure that he was adequately dressed. Unbuttoned shirt and boxers…yup, he looked good enough. He slipped on flip flops as he walked down the staircase and slowly approached the door. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lovino sitting there grumbling to himself. He was probably trying to wake up.

"Hello?" He slowly opened it.

"Oh cool! This is where you live, da ze?"

"Eh? Yong Soo?" He rubbed his eyes. "Who told you that we lived here?"

"Kiku! He told me that he swung by this area, so I decided to take a look around." He peeked inside the house. "Nice place, for two guys living alone in the middle of nowhere, da ze!"

"Well, I don't see a problem with that!" Feliciano chirped. "We are brothers, aren't we fratello?"

"For the love of Christ,_** NO WE'RE NOT!"**_

"Aww, Lovi-kun…"

"It's **LOVINO!****"**

"Hm…I would wish he can say it out loud…" Feliciano turned to Yong Soo. "What are you doing here?"

"I forgot to tell you that I had our guild HQ up and running!" He chirped, a grin in Lovino's direction. "Now, if you two are ready, I can show you the place!"

"Can't we eat first…" Lovino whined.

"Seyel makes some really good eggs and bacon-"

"_**I'm in."**_

**/="Shipmeisters' Shanty" by Kingdom Hearts II=/**

Yong Soo brought them into the city where they saw a fairly large building _(by large, it was a two-story complex that was mainly out of brick)_. The door slowly opened, revealing what looked like a small lobby desk and two bulletin boards. From the looks of it, Húdié Mei was at the desk, tapping her fingers on the wood.

"Oh, Feliciano! Lovino!" She sat up. "Nice to see you here!"

"I heard there was food." Lovino cut in.

"Of course, of course. Seyel's cooking it in the kitchen, to the left of that bulletin board." She pointed at it. "Everyone's in there already, so-"

Lovino was already gone. Yong Soo and Húdié Mei laughed before following suit. Unfortunately, Feliciano was too busy staring at the bulletin boards to notice that everyone was gone. Once he did realize it, he "ve-d" in shock and proceeded to go through the door on the right…and bumped into someone.

"Ve-!" He shivered. "S-sorry!"

"Oi! Watch where you're going!"

That voice caught him off guard. Looking up, he couldn't help but notice the familiar blond figure standing in front of him, blue eyes penetrating into his. He felt his heart beating faster, chills running up and down his spine just from the sheer contact, and his cheeks felt insanely warm. There was only one explanation for this…

He screamed in panic and threw himself at least five feet from Ludwig, his hands out in a protective stance as if he was going to hurt him.

"_**Ve~~~~! D-don't hurt me! P-please!"**_

"Eh?"

"_**I surrender, I surrender! Don't hurt me!"**_

"Feliciano…calm down! It's just me."

He knew that, but when Ludwig grabbed his shoulders, his breath stopped. He was forced to stare deep into his eyes, that familiar chill down his spine, his heart beating all the faster. Yet, when Ludwig said his name, he found himself liking it for some reason. It seemed contradicting, but…

"L-Ludwig…" He shivered. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Geez, don't worry about it. I didn't see you either." Ludwig responded, letting him go. "Did you eat yet?"

"Ve~? Uh, n-no…I was just going to head off to the kitchen."

"The kitchen's the other way." He answered. "Didn't someone tell you that?"

"Eh? O-oh! I remember…I-I'll go there then."

"All right." Ludwig answered, sounding a little confused. "Don't be late."

With another sigh, he passed Feliciano and headed toward the cafeteria, leaving the poor boy alone. Slowly, Feliciano lifted his hand toward his chest and felt his heart thumping wildly in his body, slowing down as the blond man vanished from his sight. After that, he held the places where Ludwig had touched him, reminiscing when he had touched him. There was, again, only one explanation for this…

"_**Ve~~~~! He's scary!"**_

Uh…not what I was thinking, but…moving on.

He decided that he needed a few more minutes and headed further down the hallway, seeing that it spread into the room at the end of the hallway. In that room was a huge keyboard with at least six huge monitors and one person working around all of them. It didn't take long for him to know who it was.

"Oh! Eduard!"

"Hm?" He turned around. "Feliciano. I didn't see you there."

"I just came in here." He looked in the room. "What is this place?"

"Yong Soo and Kiku helped me set this up. It's a small copy compared to what the Church and TriPenta have, but it basically serves the same purpose." Eduard chuckled, pressing a few more buttons. "It serves as our medical center and information set, so it's very helpful."

"_The Church…TriPenta…"_ Feliciano looked up. "Eduard? Can I ask you a question?"

"Hm? Sure." He turned his chair fully around. "What is it?"

**/="Forensics~ Unraveled Truth" by Trauma Team=/**

"Lovi-kun told me that the Church and TriPenta had some type of battle a long time ago…" He said. "What was that about?"

"What, you don't know about it?" Eduard looked confused. "That's strange…I thought everyone knew about it."

Feliciano felt a little uneasy, but proceeded to tell Eduard everything. About his memory loss. About waking up in the middle of the ocean with absolutely nothing except the clothes on his back. About how he met up with everyone and slowly forgot that he had that problem. And although he hesitated, he told him about the visions that he had yesterday.

"I see…I guess it does make sense that you wouldn't remember everything that happened, especially since it was that long ago…" Eduard folded his hands.

"Yeah…" Feliciano looked up. "What was the fight about?"

"I think it would make more sense if I explained their sides first." Eduard leaned back on his chair. "The Church, for example, is just an abbreviation of the Angelo-Sceptre Church of Gekozen. They hold the scriptures concerning the _Sigillato Attraversa_ and the _Iniquum_ extremely sacred. They and their followers hold the teachings quite dear to themselves."

"I…I can imagine."

"On the other hand, TriPenta is an abbreviation of Trinity-Pentagram, which is their symbol." He drew it in the air. "Unlike the Church, they believe more of the advancement of the people and the protection from the _Gekozen_. As you can imagine, it was created recently. I believe yesterday marked its thirtieth anniversary."

"Science and religion don't go well together, do they?" Feliciano asked.

"No, not really. TriPenta had been an idea years before its creation. However…" Eduard lifted his finger. "It only came into fruition when the Church discovered the existence of the _Iniquum."_

"The _Iniquum_…the one that will cause the end of the world…"

"So you know that much? At least I don't have to tell you that. Anyway, according to the scriptures, they stated that the _Iniquum_ will be so powerful that no living _Gekozen_ in the world can defeat them. Naturally, that caused a riot between those who still believed in the scriptures and those who never liked the Church in the first place. In the end, the deifiers created TriPenta as a way to combat and even prevent the _Iniquum's_ coming."

"T-that makes sense…but what was the whole controversy about?"

"Hm…I believe that it was about sixteen or seventeen years ago. Someone from TriPenta leaked information to the Church about experiments that they had been doing the time beforehand, and it caused a lot of arguments and explained reasoning." Eduard sighed. "In the end, nothing much happened besides a slap on the wrist and the end of the Creation Project."

"The…Creation Project?"

"Tell me, Feliciano…how are the _Gekozen_ chosen in this world?"

"Oh, uh…t-the scepter chooses them. The _Sigillato Attraversa_…or the _Scettro degli Angeli_…one of those two…"

"They're both the same thing, Feliciano. And yes, hypothetically the scepter is the one that grants them _Vitula_ and their powers. Then someone brought up the million dollar question: what if that process could be artificially created? What if the world could create its own _Vitula?"_

Feliciano gasped.

"TriPenta explored deep into this possibility. What they did was take orphan children off the street, usually around the ages of three or four, young enough to know they were not chosen, and try any means to copy the process." Eduard sighed. "What happened next was…you know what? You should see it for yourself."

He turned toward the computer and started typing something in it. All the monitors whirred to life, and Feliciano saw that each one had at least five news articles with bold headlines on each of them. **"TriPenta with sick child experiment", "Over 100,000 children in the course of thirteen years", "No Reported Survivors…"**

"No…survivors…out of that many children?" Feliciano's voice was breaking.

"None that lasted a human lifespan. When the media took discovery of this, two children had been reported to have survived the process. They were so young, they were referred to by code names…Pangaea, and Heilrich." Eduard shook his head. "They were both reported dead two months later. All just to fight the _Iniquum."_

Feliciano felt sick. He couldn't believe that there were people out there who would do something like this…willingly, to small innocent children. Eduard saw that pain in his face and turned off the monitors.

"Everyone still has that same reaction whenever it's brought up, so naturally it's a taboo topic." He stood up. "So let's not talk about it anymore. Knowing the others, they're probably wondering where we are. We should join them."

"…Yes. We should."

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/==/**

**So yeah…sick, sick experiments! For those of you who want some form of hint of what's going to go on next, Heilrich is Holy Roman Empire. *hint hint hint…if you squint XD***

**In other news, Himaruya has posted in a recent blog note potential human names for Hong Kong and Taiwan. Which means [INSERT RANDOM LOVINO SWEAR OF CHOICE HERE], I might have to start replacing names in this. It's on their Wiki pages, I swear.**


	12. Around the Dining Table

**If I have the time, I might replace the names of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Maybe. So I don't own anything, just to let you know. If you didn't know, then now you know! Come on Lovino, you should get it by now!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Laughter and Merriment" by Kingdom Hearts II=/**

Eduard led Feliciano through the hallways toward the dining hall. Once he was able to get the layout down, he found himself in a simple dining room. By the looks of things, it looked as if someone was painting inside the room _(in a really bad way, too)_. There was a long table in the middle of the room, and familiar people were eating on it.

"Oi, there you are Feliciano!" Yïngguó Shi smiled. "We were worried about you not showing up."

"He was just lost, that's all." Eduard chuckled. "But we're OK. Take a seat."

Feliciano chuckled softly before taking a safe seat next to Lovino, who was mumbling praises that he didn't have to handle 'the annoying blond bastard' anymore. Before he had a chance to ask, he heard footsteps from behind him.

"Uh, Feliciano…that was my seat."

The voice made him freeze. He quickly darted his head around and saw a somewhat confused Ludwig staring back at him. Instantly, he felt his heart pulse up again in panic as sweat rolled down his back. Yes, it was defiantly fear. He quickly stood up.

"Ve~~! I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I-I'll move, really-!"

"No, no, it's fine." Ludwig sighed. "I'll just sit next to you."

Ludwig quietly sat next to him, making Feliciano blush and try his best to lean away from him as much as possible without making it too obvious. Suddenly, he felt a strange tug at the curl on his head. He barely had enough area to look up and see that his curl had hooked up with Lovino's curl. Didn't seem like a big problem.

If it hadn't been for the fact that he felt really odd.

"_Feliciano?"_ Matthew asked from across the table. _"Are you OK?"_

He couldn't say anything. There was a huge rush of emotions running through his veins, and he could feel himself blushing rapidly. As the curl was being pulled more and more, he felt the strange rush go faster and faster, way too much for his body to handle. At least he was being silent about it. Lovino was cursing and swearing so badly that he had to be censored for this part of the game.

"Are you alright, you two?" Toris asked, concerned.

"Do we LOOK like we're fuckin' alright?" Lovino spat. "Do we? _**Do we?"**_

Out of all of them, Kiku was the only one who was actually amused by the strange events that was going on. Meanwhile, the poor brothers were too busy trying to keep the "pain" to a minimum to actually think about getting anywhere. Oh well, they looked cute in pain.

"_**Shut up, you damn bastard…"**_

Oh, did I say that out loud? Whoops.

Anyway, moving on…

What happened next took place in a few minutes. Seyel stood up from her position _(which of course was sitting next to Matthew)_, walked over to the brothers, leaned them closer to each other, pinched their shoulders, unhooked their curls, pushed them back upright, and walked back to her table without missing a beat. Unfortunately, Feliciano was pushed a little too hard and ended up landing in Ludwig's arms.

"Wow, Seyel…" Húdié Mei gasped. "How did you know what to do?"

"Easy." She took Matthew's ahoge. "It's the same reaction when I pull this!"

"_S-Seyel!"_ He blushed.

Meanwhile, Feliciano was too busy slowly realizing that he was in Ludwig's arms. _**He was in Ludwig's arms.**_ Maybe it was the aftereffect of the curl thing, but all he knew was that his heart was getting faster and faster and more dangerous to just running out on fuel. He wanted nothing more than to apologize to him. He wanted nothing more than to sit himself upright and eat his breakfast without anything new. He wanted nothing more than to…

Melt.

In.

His.

Arms.

…

…

_Ve~~~~let me out __**let me out **__**LET ME OUT!**_

"Oi! Let go of him, you freakin' bastard!"

In one simple motion, Lovino grabbed the back of Feliciano's shirt and pulled him back to a sitting position, away from Ludwig. As he was going on some rant with the blond, Feliciano could not bring himself to look at him in the eye. Fortunately, Raivis was serving the food, which he took with much thanks.

"Well, let's forget this for now, shall we?" Kiku smiled, teleporting between them to break them apart _(again, Lovino screamed)_. "Can we concentrate on bigger things?"

"Yeah, like where the hell do we start on this whole 'guild' business?" Lovino asked.

"I spread the word out, don't worry!" Yong Soo lifted his hand up. "We'll have business in no time!"

"For now…can we just eat?" Húdié Mei asked.

Everyone chirped in response, eating their food with the biggest smiles on their faces and the most random conversation topics to be brought up. During that time, Feliciano still couldn't look at Ludwig in the eye. After a while, he finally found the voice to speak up.

"_Uh…L-Ludwig?"_ No response. _"L-Ludwig?"_

"Yes?" He looked up.

"…_uh…um…I'm sorry. A-about earlier."_

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He said cooly.

"…_OK…"_

He finally took a piece into his mouth, a nice calming effect on his already panicky morning. It wasn't until Lovino and Yong Soo started arguing over who should be guild leader yet again that he decided to leave for some fresh air. He wandered into the lobby and saw that there was a young woman standing in there. She had flowing brown hair and had a green maid's dress on.

"Oh, hi there." He greeted.

"Hi." She turned her head back to him. "I-Is this the Hetalia Guild that I've been hearing about?"

"Um…yeah, it is." He answered. "Can we help you?"

"Yes, actually. Well, it's more like can you help a friend of mine." She answered. "Will you hear me out?"

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE.**

**/=+=/**

**Yeah, short chapter. Just wanted to update some crack. Hope you like XD**


	13. Into The Brighter Caverns

**OK, OK! We're going into something serious this time! Last chapter was just, you know, a break from the action! Besides, it was cracky as it is XD**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Deduction –another version-" by Persona 4=/**

"So then…Elizabeta, correct? Can you explain your situation again?"

"Of course."

Feliciano sat her down in the dining room as the others gathered around her, still eating their breakfast. Now that he got a good look at her, she did look quite pretty. If he had met her in a different location, he would've thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

"Actually, my friend didn't want me to tell you…didn't think that a guild this small would be able to handle a job like this…but I wanted help wherever I can get it." She answered. "I hope that doesn't offend you."

"That's fine. We'll help wherever we can!" Yong Soo sat down in front of her, interested in his first client. "So…what's the problem?"

"Well, you see…he wanted someone to join him in exploring the Brighter Caverns. The crystals there are very helpful in dispelling his _Vitula._ His tends to overcharge when he's not using it." She brought up. "Anyway, he brought along Gilbert with him-"

"_**Gilbert?"**_ Ludwig choked. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I know. I didn't trust him, either. He's such a jerk." Elizabeta sighed. "Anyway, I want someone to check up on them…just to make sure that he's alright."

"I know where the Brighter Caverns are. I've been there before." Húdié Mei stated. "Whoever wants to come along, let me know."

"I think I want to go." Feliciano stated. "No, wait…_**I WANT TO GO!"**_

"Geez, I can't believe that it's Gilbert with him…" Ludwig shook his head. "I'm going with you two."

Everyone was about to ask if anyone else wanted to go when they saw Yïngguó Shi step out of nowhere and place his hand on her shoulder. That seemed to say thousands of words, since she nodded and said that he was coming with them as well.

_D-did they communicate without words?_ Feliciano stood in shock. _I…I didn't even know that was possible._

"If you guys don't mind, I want to follow you." Elizabeta stated. "I need to be there myself."

"Can you handle yourself?" Húdié Mei asked. "I mean, the Brighter Caverns are very dangerous-"

"She can handle herself, da ze!" Yong Soo chirped. "I should know!"

Everyone stared at Yong Soo in confusion before noticing that his eyes were glowing. He quickly turned to Yïngguó Shi and whispered something in his ear, who then proceeded to place one hand on her stomach. She quickly smacked him away _(with a frying pan, no less)_, startling everyone in the room.

"Whoa! Damn, woman!" Lovino remarked.

"Huh…so you were right."

Yïngguó Shi only rubbed his knuckles as a glowing circle suddenly appeared on Elizabeta's stomach. Feliciano seemed to notice that it looked oddly like a _Vitula_, only…a lot more oval than what he was used to seeing. She stepped back, shocked at what just happened.

"Wha-?" She gasped. "What the heck did you _**do?"**_

"I just copied your ability. That's about it." He answered, lowering his hands. "It's only temporary, and it doesn't really affect you."

"Y-you can do that?" She asked.

"Yeah." He answered simply, lifting his palm. "You have a _Vitula,_ and I have mine."

She didn't have to respond to that statement, surprised that everyone that he was a _Gekozen_ just like her. Her eyes wandered around to the others, who all nodded in agreement. She nodded with them before turning her head toward Yong Soo, who pointed at his eyes.

"It's what I do best." He grinned. "Well…I can do a lot of better things, but that's beside the point!"

"We should get going now…" Húdié Mei stated. "The caverns get very dangerous at night."

**/="Ortion Cavern" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

Feliciano couldn't help but notice that the name of the caverns was very accurate. The walls were shining from the sunlight on it, making them glow a bright white. He turned his head around and saw that the sun was shining beautifully in the morning dawn.

"Here they are! The Brighter Caverns!" Húdié Mei chirped. "Just like I promised."

"They really do live up to their name." Yïngguó Shi stated, shielding his eyes. "So Roderich came here?"

"I really hope so." Elizabeta answered. "Come on. I'm worried about them."

Everyone nodded before following her in the caverns. Feliciano sighed, happy to know that he doesn't have to be worried about losing anyone by the brightly lit walls. However, his gaze would not leave Ludwig. He seemed fixated at looking at him for some reason.

_Ve~~~he seems so…strong and noble._ He thought. _I wonder how much work I have to do to get muscles like that…_

"Elizabeta." He stated. His voice made Feliciano pause. "This Roderich…is he from the Edelstein family?"

"Oh, so you have heard of them!" Elizabeta chirped. "Yes, he's _the_ Roderich Edelstein!"

"Edelstein? No way!" Húdié Mei gasped. "That's awesome!"

"_Um…Edelstein?"_ Feliciano mumbled.

"_The Edelstein family is well-known among the people as the first bloodline to bear Gekozen."_ Yïngguó Shi whispered to him, the other's voices loud enough to mask their conversation. _"Usually, Gekozen are chosen at random. But in the case of this family, each and every child that is born wields a distinct Vitula."_

"_So all of them are Gekozen."_

"_Yes. As a result, the Church considers them a noble family. They're one of the richest families in this planet."_ He stated. _"If what they're saying is correct, Roderich is one of them…and from what I heard, he's special, even for an Edelstein…"_

Feliciano didn't say anything, only wondering just how noble this man could be. He closed his eyes and smiled, imagining an extremely well-dressed man with an air of elegance around him. He doesn't know his face, but he knew from the back of his head that something about him would make him stand out somehow.

_Ve…I wonder what he looks like…_

Barely had that thought crossed his mind when he found himself in a clearing. In front of him were two people, both arguing about something he couldn't catch. One of them looked like Gilbert, while the other man had short brown hair and looked noble in his long purple overcoat.

_That must be Roderich!_

Feliciano turned his head around and realized that he must've run in front of everyone, for there was no one in sight. His sigh of doubt stopped the conversation, and he paused. They obviously knew that he was in the room now. So much for just asking.

"Uh…hi there!" Feliciano chirped.

"Who are you?" The noble man asked.

"Who, me? I'm Feliciano Vargas, but you can call me Feliciano or even just Feli, really!" He chirped again, his hand in the air. "I was looking for you, actually! Me and my colleagues!"

"Hah! He's pretty bold to just come out to us!" Gilbert chuckled. "Hey, I've seen your face before! You're that guy that was hanging out with that lookalike of yours!"

"O-oh, you remember me." Feliciano was a little intimidated.

"Yeah, cuz I'm just that awesome." He grinned. "I never thought that you'd be a power-hungry jerk after Roderich, though…"

"Eh?"

"Let's not talk." Roderich propped his glasses. "We're taking the agreed formation, I believe."

"Don't really care. I just want in on him!"

"_**Eh?"**_

Feliciano jumped _(more like FLAILED)_ out of the way as Gilbert punched into the ground. And by punched into the ground, there was a crater FIVE METERS DEEP. He sighed with relief in the air before realizing that the back of Gilbert's hands was glowing.

"_**Ka-boom!"**_

A huge beam of light shot out toward him. Feliciano panicked before placing a hand over his bag, a symbol instantly shooting out in front of him that quickly deflected the shot. As the symbol cleared, he noticed that the symbol quickly faded away…but he didn't send it out. He looked up and saw that Roderich was standing peacefully on the ground, a glyph glowing on his cheek.

_What did he…?_

Feliciano grabbed his bag, trying to summon, only to realize that Roderich's _Vitula_ was still glowing and that nothing was responding to his command. Almost instantly, Gilbert took advantage and jumped to Feliciano's level and delivering him a hard punch to the gut. He was sent flying into the ground, feeling the rocks dig into his back.

"Geez, he's like a twig!" Gilbert laughed. "Not hard to beat at all!"

"Well, just to make sure…"

Feliciano sat up, trying hard not to spit out blood, only to see Roderich lift up his fingers. There were ten individual images on each of the tips, and with one swipe of his finger he summoned a glowing keyboard in front of him. He couldn't help but shiver at the image as Roderich pressed the keys.

**/="Awesome!" by Fragile Dreams=/**

_Wow…he's such a good player…_

Feliciano stood up, surprised at the beautiful music that was coming from Roderich's fingers. Not even Gilbert was moving, standing still with a grin on his face. But what kept the small part of his attention was the glowing fingertips. He slowly blinked.

"_Roderich is special…"_ He remembered Yïngguó Shi saying earlier. _"He's special, even for an Edelstein."_

_He has two Vitula…_

He suddenly stepped into a puddle. Confused as to why there is water in the otherwise dry cave, he looked down to his feet and realized that he was completely surrounded by a pool of water, getting bigger and bigger by the minute. Roderich pressed a few more keys, and suddenly he shot in the air as the water surrounded Feliciano.

_W-what's going on?_ He suddenly felt burning pain, and he grabbed his throat. _I…I can't breathe!_

He desperately tried to swim his way out of the orb of water, getting extremely scared the more his arms continued to burn. After a few seconds his mouth flung open, water dashing deep into his lungs. Feliciano cringed, feeling the power of death gripping him tightly around his chest.

_I…I don't want to die here…I don't want die here…_ He sobbed, his mind desperately trying to summon anything. _Lovino…everyone…Ludwig…_

That name alone forced more blood through his pained body, and he felt his consciousness fading fast. As his eyes slowly closed, maybe for good, he couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen when they realized that he died on a simple misunderstanding. A sudden nudge pushed him to the side, and he could barely hear someone screaming.

**/="A Dream that Will End Sometime" by Final Fantasy X=/**

"No, Roderich! Stop!"

Roderich looked up from the piano in shock as he saw a woman charge into the room with a shocked look on her face. She quickly turned to Feliciano, trapped and floating motionless in a floating orb, and activated the _Vitula_ on her stomach. She jumped right through the water barrier and pulled him out, landing on her back.

"Don't hurt him, he's with me!"

"Eliza…?"

Roderich looked around in confusion as the others charged into the room. Ludwig was quick to run to Feliciano's side as Elizabeta was rapidly compressing his chest, no movement coming from the man. Suddenly, someone nudged her shoulder.

"I got this."

"Húdié Mei?"

She lifted her hands up in the air as two images began to glow on her wrists. She placed one of her hands on his lips and slowly lifted it, water coming out of his mouth. The minute the last of the water left, a huge gasp escaped him. He started coughing rapidly.

"Feliciano? Are you alright?"

Ludwig held his shoulders as he began to shiver rapidly from the excess air going down his lungs. Slowly, Feliciano looked up and found himself eye-to-eye with the man's concerned gaze. Instantly, he felt his pulse shoot up 0 to 60 in about 3.5 seconds. Was his throat supposed to close up when he's trying to get his lungs working again?

"Let me guess, misconception?" Yïngguó Shi looked at Gilbert. "Yep, I'm right."

"Hey, what was that?"

"I'm saying you're an idiot." He pointed at Feliciano. "Come on, you almost got this man killed."

"_**GAAAH!"**_

Everyone turned their heads to see Feliciano jump to his feet and hide quickly behind Húdié Mei. He was muttering something that sounded something like _"scary, scary, scary, scary…"_, but they had to admit that he looked cute when he was scared.

"Elizabeta, I thought I told you that I was fine." Roderich stated.

"I couldn't help but be worried! You know the people that are out there." She responded. "And they know your status and potential."

"I understand your concern…" He propped his glasses. "But please remember that we both thought he was one of them."

Everyone turned back to Feliciano, who whimpered in shock and proceeded to conclude that Húdié Mei was too thin to hide him, allowing him to dart behind Ludwig. He was very…muscled up. Ludwig mumbled something in blank shock and lightly pushed him off.

"Ne…that music sounds beautiful, da?"

**/= "The Theme of Awakening and Burgeoning - behind the scenes –" by RomaHeta=/**

A voice echoed in the walls, shocking everyone. Suddenly, they heard a sweep of a thick jacket and the image of a man grabbed Roderich by an arm grab. He tried to fight the man off, but the intruder only grinned and placed a finger on the glowing _Vitula_ on his cheek. His eyes opened before drooping, and he flopped like a dead weight.

"He's a very talented piano player, isn't he?" He stated, swiping a bit of silver hair from his purple eyes. "I hope you don't mind me having him."

"Back away from him!" Húdié Mei spat. "You're outnumbered!"

"Yes, but I believe that I can fly."

Everyone blinked before realizing that this man was flying in the air. _**HE WAS FLYING IN THE AIR!**_ He looked at Feliciano with a small grin on his face, and instantly he had the image of a mountain in his mind. He hid himself further in Ludwig's back.

"My name is Ivan. And if you want this man back, you're going to have to find me~"

And with a wink, he vanished into the sky.

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[RODERICH]- **_Can negate any activated Vitula that he wishes._ Vitula: Side of cheek

_Creates sound to be used as sound waves._ Vitula: Tip of fingers

**[HÚDIÉ MEI]- **_Water and Wind Manipulation_. Vitula: Wrists

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**Sorry, no Russia x Prussia takeovers here. I wanted it, but then I decided that it'll be cooler if it was poor Austria XD And please, like I was ever going to kill off poor Feli-chan XD**

**Gilbert****- HEY! WHERE'S THAT BASTARD AT?**

**Feliciano****- Eh? What's wrong, Gil-kun?**

**Gilbert****- She made me freakin' **_**PUNCH**_** you for entertainment, the damn witch! Where's she at?**

**Feliciano****- No, really, I'm fine…**

_***is hiding perfectly behind a rock***_

**Oh, and for those of you who might be curious…yes, I AM HotaruMitsuki101 on YouTube.**


	14. How to Save the Edelstein

**Sooo…yeah, Ivan kidnapped Roderich. That's all I can say.**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Deduction –another version-" by Persona 4=/**

"Wait, what happened?"

"Yeah, um…" Húdié Mei blinked. "Some guy named Ivan came out of nowhere and just took him away."

"That's crazy…" Lovino blinked. "Sounds like a serial rapist to me."

"He had that air around him…"

Feliciano zoned out a bit as they rest of them continued on their merry little conversation. What was really bothering him was that weird image of that mountain that came to his head. As he recalled the image, he started to remember specific details: the pale blue top, trees that would glow purple, and a strange entrance that was marked with two towers.

_What was that place? Some kind of mountain?_ He leaned forward on the table. _I've never seen it before...so why did I see it now?_

All of a sudden, he found himself getting extremely tired. The conversation seemed to be getting nowhere, so he decided to lay down his head and get a few minutes of shut-eye. Hopefully, someone will wake him up when they get a good conclusion of where they can find him.

**/="Pandora Hearts" by Pandora Hearts=/**

_Those symbols again…_

_I feel like I'm floating in the air…_

_Floating…_

_Like a cloud in the sky…_

_It's so warm…_

_Wait…the lights…the lights are going away!_

_Where am I going?_

_Hah? It's…that child from before! From the newspapers…_

"_Who are you…?"_

"…_Heilrich…who are you?"_

_**[I'm…everything.]**_

_Who was that? Who's talking?_

_**[That was me.]**_

_Eh? W-who are you? Show yourself!_

_**[Turn around, Vargas. Look into my eyes.]**_

_That voice…_

**/="Who am I?" by Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days=/**

Feliciano found himself floating in the darkness. He knew he was floating because he was moving his feet and was touching no surface. But this was a strange darkness, for he could see his own two hands and his floating body, not to mention a strange shadow that his body was casting.

"_Where am I…?"_ His voice had an echo. _"What's going on?"_

_**[You're with me, Vargas. This is my realm.]**_

The familiar voice caught his attention again, and he turned his head to see that another figure was floating down from the sky. It was the same figure from the last dream he had, with the symbols for wings. This time, he could see the white robes that hung on his body and the simple white bonnet that was a little too big for his head. As he descended from the sky, his face finally came to view.

Feliciano screamed.

"_H-h-h-h-h-how…? What's going on?"_ He shivered, his lip quivering. _"I'm…I'm dreaming…"_

_**[This isn't a dream, Vargas. This is real.]**_ The man looked to him with dead eyes. _**[You know who I am, don't you?]**_

"…_You're…__me__…"_

_**[Yes. You're me.]**_

"_I don't understand."_

_**[You're me, Vargas. That's the truth.]**_

"_What does that even mean…? I'm not…supposed to exist?"_

_**[Vargas…you're me, as I am you. Two halves playing two different roles in the same story.]**_

"_What story? What are you talking about?"_

_**[That is for another time. Aren't you concerned about that man Roderich, the one that was taken away?]**_

"_H-how would you know that?"_

_**[I'm you, Vargas. Haven't we established this already?]**_

"_It's just…I can't understand what's going on right now. Here you are telling me who I really am and then you're telling me about Roderich…"_

_**[I'm worried about him as well. I am you, remember?]**_

This whole thing was not making any sense.

_**[That image that was given to you…it was a mountain, right?]**_

"_Image…that was given to me?"_

_**[The mountain peak that you've seen back in the caverns. It's called the Adel Temple, named for the first man that would establish the Edelstein family.]**_

"_You know where it is?"_

_**[You already know it, Vargas. You just need to lead the way.]**_ The man stepped back. _**[You should leave.]**_

"_Leave?"_

_**[You're being called back to your realm. You must leave.]**_

"_Wait a minute! Who are you, really?"_

_**[I'm you, Vargas.]**_

"_No, I mean…what can I call you? A name?"_

_**[…Veneziano.]**_

**/="Deduction –another version-" by Persona 4=/**

He heard faint voices calling him again, two hands shaking his shoulders and another hovering in front of his mouth. The screaming voice that was after that was his brother, calling for any of them to _"hurry the fuck up and help him"_. That's when he realized that he wasn't breathing…again. The sensation of someone touching him was removed, and instead he felt two other hands on his shoulders. Something shivered in his chest.

"Feliciano…can you hear me?"

It was Ludwig's voice. Whatever was going on, it was making his chest hurt extremely. After a few seconds, he finally felt his heart start beating and a gasp escaped his lips _(a lot quieter than the last time)_. The sudden warmth that returned to his body brought Ludwig's attention, and steady hands slowly pulled him up to a sitting position.

"Yahoo! He lives…again!" Yong Soo chirped. "Seriously, Ludwig…you must have magic powers or something!"

"Oi, Feli!" Lovino shoved Ludwig out of the way. _**"What the fuck was that?"**_

"_I-I'm sorry…"_ He mumbled. _"I just…I was having…something."_

"Something?" Húdié Mei sat next to him. "What do you mean?"

"U-uh…I saw this mountain…the Adel Temple." Feliciano stated. "I think Ivan's going to be there."

"What makes you say that?" Elizabeta sounded interested.

"I…I just know." He answered, unable to know the answer himself. "W-we have to go there…"

"Not in that condition." Ludwig got him. "You're staying here."

"But I have to go." Feliciano stood up. "I just…I just have to."

"Then you're not going alone. Not when you're recovering from whatever that was." Ludwig stood up.

"Oh no you don't! You're not staying alone with him!" Lovino grabbed Feliciano's arm. "I'm coming too, and you better _**back off!"**_

"I want to see this." Kiku grinned. "I'm tagging along."

"I have to go too! I want to know if Roderich is going to be alright!" Elizabeta clenched her fists. "I'll make that Ivan pay…"

"Uh, _**hello?**_ Has everyone forgotten me?"

Everyone turned their heads to realize that _(oh, look at that)_ Gilbert was in the room as well. He stood up with a grin on his face and cracked his knuckles, slamming his fists together afterward. He was obviously pumped up for something.

"I want to get my hands on this guy!" He grinned. "I'm goin' after, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"What makes you think you can do anything about it?" Lovino spat.

"Duh! That's because I'm awesome!" Gilbert smirked to Lovino. "Unless you're going to be handling him yourself…"

"_**DAMN STRAIGHT**_ I'm going to! I'll do it so fast that he'll leave tingling all over!"

"Oh please. I'll do it so fast that he won't have time to scream!"

"Right, like you peg him to be a screamer!"

For some reason, Feliciano was hearing Elizabeta snicker to herself. He was getting seriously creeped out, so he quietly excused himself out of the room _(and by that note, I mean that he got the hell out of the building)_. Once he sneaked himself out, he took a deep breath.

"_Feliciano."_

He blinked in confusion and looked around. There wasn't anyone around him. So who was talking? Maybe he was hallucinating again. Maybe it was Veneziano again? He sure hoped not; talking to himself is kinda creepy.

"_I-I'm right here."_

"Eh?" He turned next to the door. "Oh, Matthew. What's wrong?"

"_You're going to the Adel Temple to save Roderich, aren't you."_ He stated. _"There's a locked door that keeps the temple closed from outsiders."_

"Ve?"

"_I heard that it's locked by a glyph that only the Edelstein family can unlock…Yong Soo told me that."_

"All right." He smiled. "Thank you for telling me."

"Feliciano. We're ready."

He turned his head and saw Ludwig, Kiku and Elizabeta walk out of the door with serious looks on their faces. From the corner of his eye, he saw Matthew sneak back into the building, dodging the argument between Gilbert and Lovino about…something he didn't catch.

"Follow me." Elizabeta nodded.

**/="Sylph" by Tales of Phantasia=/**

They were standing in front of the Adel Temple, a wall standing in front of them. Feliciano could only assume that it was the door that Matthew was talking about, but by the looks on everyone's faces they didn't have a clue on what to do about it.

"OK, where the hell is the entrance?" Lovino looked around.

"This is the entrance." Elizabeta stated. "Only Edelsteins can enter. Judging by how smart that Ivan was, he must've used Roderich to get in here."

"Well, we'll just have to break it down!" Gilbert grinned, lifting his arms. "Stand back!"

"The glyph blocks any attack, Gilbert." Kiku stared at the wall. "It won't be touched."

"Screw that!"

Feliciano was then gleefully entertained by Gilbert shooting at it as many times as you can imagine. After a few minutes, he felt his palm itch. He went to scratch it and realized that the same glyph that was on the door was on his hand. _What was that about?_

"OK, anyone else have any bright ideas?" Lovino looked around.

"Maybe we can dig inside the temple?" Kiku asked.

While everyone was debating / arguing and all that stuff, Feliciano walked over to the wall and touched it once. Instantly, he felt something erupt from his mind and the glyph on the wall shattered. The wall sank into the ground, revealing the entrance to the temple.

"That works." Gilbert shrugged.

"Feliciano?"

Ludwig walked toward him as his hand dropped to his side. Then _**he**_ dropped. The blond was quick to catch him before he hit the ground, barely noticing the glyph on his hand fading into his skin. Everyone gathered around them as Ludwig lifted him up, carrying him bridal style _(again, Elizabeta squealed in her own way)_.

"We'll go further in." He answered. "I'll take care of Feliciano."

Lovino swore to him underneath his breath until he decided that he might as well let him do so. They all walked inside the temple, swallowing their fears.

**/=+=/**

Roderich's eyes opened weakly, realizing that he was on the ground and his _Vitula_ was locked. He looked around and saw that he was in a strange hall, the only light coming in front the creases in the walls. He made no move to stand up, having a strange feeling that he wasn't alone.

_Where am I…?_ He skimmed the columns. _A temple…?_

"Ah, you're awake!"

The voice caught Roderich by surprise, but he made no move to say anything or even twitch a finger. It sounded like that man that had taken him away from the group in the Brighter Caverns…

"Eh? You're not going to move? All right, if that's what you want." He chuckled. "They're coming to get you anyway."

Roderich immediately thought of Feliciano and Elizabeta and shivered. The man couldn't help but laugh by his sudden movement as he looked toward the door.

"They'll be coming soon, da?"

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**Hahaha…laugh at the innuendos. I dare you :D**

**And I love it when you guys review! Freak out at two Felicianos **_**(well, I was about to say two Italies, but then again Lovino was Italy, so…OK, I confused myself -_-).**_


	15. Discovery in the Adel Temple

**So yeah…Feliciano knocked himself out just trying to open the door and is now being carried by Ludwiiig **_**(insert a small fangirl squeal from the GerIta = CANON believer behind the keyboard)**_**. I have about five other series to update and I WANT to update them, but UGHHHH…this is the most interesting out of all of them…I want to update this faster than the others…**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="The Other Side of Memories" by Ar Tonelico=/**

Feliciano felt something warm on his cheek and arm, and for some reason he was bobbing up and down yet hovering in the air. His hearing was clearing up, and he could barely hear Lovino and Gilbert arguing among each other about who was going to get Ivan's neck first. Once he could clearly hear, he felt his strength return to his muscles. His eyelids twitched and slowly opened.

"Will you two stop arguing about this? Does it really matter who's going to be fighting him?" Ludwig grumbled. _"I swear, those two haven't stopped fighting since Roderich had been captured…"_

For some reason, Ludwig's voice seemed very loud and close to him. Once his eyes cleared away the blurriness, he noticed that he could see Ludwig's face being inches away from his own. That's when he realized something: Ludwig was carrying him, _and his head was __**resting **__**on his shoulder**_**.**

His eyes widened, his breath suddenly ragged to the point of it nearly stopping. Instantly he felt blood rush through his veins, and his mind was screaming at him to get out of his grip and walk _**as far away from him as he can.**_ However, the other part didn't want to move…just stay here in his arms forever…

_Ve~~~~why can't I make a decision?_

Nevertheless, Ludwig seemed startled about something and then turned toward Feliciano, locking eye contact. It was around that time that he realized that he was so busy arguing with himself on what to do that he forgot to breathe. He didn't have to look in a mirror to notice that his face was extremely red.

"You're awake."

"…" He nodded. _Voice decided to fail on me again._

"Can you move?"

For some reason, his nerves were telling him not to move at all. Pretend he was still injured or _**something!**_ But alas, his legs twitched, eager to get out of it. He wanted to curse at it, but knew that he couldn't do that. He nodded and slowly proceeded to stand on his own two feet.

"I-I'm OK…" He answered. "I'm fine…"

"Are you sure?" Elizabeta asked. "After passing out like that…"

"I-I'm fine…really."

Ludwig removed his hands from Feliciano, and felt the cold rush onto his body. He looked up and saw that everyone looked concerned, even the douchebag Gilbert. He could only nod and walk ahead of the others as normal as he could. He stumbled, and instantly felt Lovino dash next to him with an arm on his belly.

"Walk straight, bastard." His way of asking if he was alright.

"Thank you." He chuckled.

"…che."

He let go, allowing Feliciano to walk around by himself. Once he got a good two feet without stumbling, he dashes as fast as he could. He was way too embarrassed to even think about looking at Ludwig in the eyes. Before he knew it, he found himself in a large room that resembled an old throne.

"Ve~?" He looked around. "Where am I? Where's everyone else?"

"_Ah…you're finally here alone, just like I planned."_

A shiver shot down his spine as a sound echoed from behind him. Barely did he have the time to turn around when he felt a small hand on his back. Next thing he knew, he was flying across the room and crashing into the nearby wall. However, instead of falling on the concrete, he felt arms catch him.

"No broken bones…you really are stronger than I thought."

"Eh~?" He looked up. "Roderich?"

"Finally, you stand up. That makes this a bit more fun, _da?"_

Roderich and Feliciano turned _(more epic on Roderich's part)_ toward Ivan as he started to levitate in the air. Feliciano blinked, and for a split second he could see a huge round orb surrounding Ivan. That was probably his barrier or his power. Where would his _Vitula_ be?

"You." The man looked at Feliciano.

"Ve~?"

"Cover me."

"Eh? O-OK!"

**/="Professor Layton's Theme" by Professor Layton Series=/**

Feliciano lifted up his hand and pulled out his locket, the fire dog instantly appearing by his side. As the dog charged, he placed a hand on his notebook inside the bag and pulled out a huge rod decorated with emeralds, rubies and adorned with a diamond blade, charging into the fray. Before he dashed in, he saw Roderich's fingertips glow and pull out a floating keyboard.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

Ivan charged toward them, a metal pipe extending from his sleeve. It quickly made contact with Feliciano's staff, almost throwing him off. When he did jump off, the fire dog jumped in front of him and roared, throwing a flame in front of him. Roderich took that flame to play a huge melody and changed the small flame into a huge explosion. Ivan quickly bounced out of the way, and that's when Feliciano saw something glow on his forehead.

_His Vitula!_

He turned to Roderich and pointed at his forehead. Odd enough, he knew what he meant. His cheek started to glow as his music started to play faster and faster. Meanwhile, Ivan and Feliciano were going in a strong one-on-one duel with each other. Suddenly, he touched Feliciano's chest.

"And you vanish."

Feliciano's _Vitula_ began to glow, and his weapon and the dog quickly vanished. He gasped as Ivan's hand wrapped tightly around his neck, holding him in the air. Feliciano's feet dangled, trying desperately to get energy. Roderich stepped forward, but Ivan threw his arm out and he was thrown into the wall.

"Having fun yet, Feliciano?" Ivan giggled, his hands twitching around his neck.

"_H-how…how…did you…?"_

"I read your mind, of course. How would I know otherwise?"

His grip grew tighter, and the air was quickly escaping his lungs. He grabbed his hand and tried desperately to pull it away from him, but it only made the grip tighter. His mind was desperately trying to summon anything from his notebook, but nothing was coming out. What the heck is going on?

"I can hold them back, of course!" He stated. "Unless you haven't realized that already."

His power…held back? What could he do without the ability to summon and Roderich down and out for the count? His head was slowly clouding up, but at the same time it was clearing up. He was back in that dark realm…back with his other self…with him…

"_Vene…ziano…"_

**/="Holy Light" by Tales of Destiny=/**

Ivan quickly jumped back as he saw Feliciano hover and glow in the air. Roderich shook his head to get his mind cleared and saw as Feliciano's wardrobe changed from his usual blue attire to a strange templar's robe with wings. His eyes opened, revealing just how dead they were, and instantly he felt his _Vitula_ pulse.

_What…what is this power?_ He cringed.

"Ah…so this was the man who was talking to me." Ivan grinned.

"Feliciano!"

A quiet rumble echoed from beneath them, and a split second later Lovino came dashing through the hallway, his _Vitula_ pulsing and throbbing from its use. Feliciano turned slowly toward him, his dead eyes sending hard shivers down his spine.

"Hey, you! Tall, dark and scary!" He pointed to Ivan. "What the hell did you do to _mi fratello?"_

_**[He is me. There is nothing to be worried about.]**_

"_**BULL CRAP! **_ You're not him!" He spat, grabbing Feliciano's arms. "Who the hell are you and what did you do to him?"

_**[My name is Veneziano. Get it right.]**_

Ivan took that as an opportunity to throw an attack toward them. Veneziano was about to reflect when Lovino quickly flip kicked it out of the way. He made no move to say anything, only stared at the boy as he lowered his leg and glared toward Ivan.

"Hey, you! Back the hell away or I will seriously hurt you!"

_**[I will handle this. You'll only be in the way.]**_

Lovino turned his head to see Veneziano fly toward Ivan, mental blades clashing so loudly that there were craters in the ground. There were footsteps echoing in the hallway, and everyone else dashed into the room. Ivan chuckled at their entrance and stopped, causing Veneziano to stop as well and for everyone to see what had happened.

"Feliciano…?" Kiku blinked.

"Whoa! He upgraded!" Gilbert gasped.

Veneziano lifted his hand, and Ivan lowered his weapon. He turned toward the others with his dead eyes, and everyone couldn't help but shiver. When his eyes skimmed over Ludwig, he paused. The blond stood there in confusion before he screamed in pain.

"Ludwig!"

Kiku teleported to his side, and everyone could see his glowing _Vitula_ on his shoulders and neck. However, they watched in shock as the symbol was actually spreading through his skin like some kind of disease. The sight of Ludwig in pain caused a strange sear in Veneziano's head, and he held his mind.

_**[I see…they're reacting to each other…I didn't see this coming.]**_

"Hey!" Lovino screamed to him. "What the hell is happening?"

Veneziano lowered his hand and closed his eyes. Instantly, his body stopped glowing and his clothes changed and he fell to the ground. Lovino growled as he dashed toward the helpless body of his brother.

"Hey, damn you! Get back here! Don't just retreat in there!"

"Lovino, stop."

He looked up and saw Kiku staring sternly toward him. He turned back to his brother and saw that his eyes were twitching and slowly opening up, confused. He looked up to see Ludwig on his knees in pain.

**/="Omiode no Naka ni" by D. Gray Man=/**

"L-Ludwig!"

He lifted his head off of Lovino's shoulders, only to keel over in pain. Ludwig looked at him in shock, at the amount of pain he was in, and tried his best to hide his own. Lovino and Elizabeta took Feliciano and slowly rose him to his feet. With their help, he turned toward an oblivious Ivan.

"Ivan…you said that…he was the man that you were talking to…" Feliciano stated. "What were you talking about?"

"Wait, that wasn't you?" Roderich stood up, confused.

"I was wondering if the voice really was coming from you. I guess I was right, _da?"_ Ivan looked toward Feliciano with a smile. "Yes, the man that I spoke with…his name was Veneziano."

"Veneziano…"

"He wanted me to test you…to see whether or not you can handle his presence in your body when it comes to the surface." Ivan stated. "I only took what I thought was necessary to do so."

"So you kidnapped Roddy over there and forced him all the way over here?" Gilbert asked.

"…_Roddy?"_ Roderich shivered.

"Yes." Ivan chuckled. "Besides, Roderich and Feliciano looked cute when they were in so much pain, da? Kolkolkol…"

_**CREEPY…**_

"Let me make it up to you. I'm aware that you're in a guild, are you not? Perhaps I can lend allegiance to you?"

"Wait, first you attack us, kidnap Roddy, attack us again, and now you're just going to let yourself in our group?" Gilbert folded his arms.

"Since when were you part of our group?" Lovino asked.

_***While they were arguing…***_

"Ivan…"

"Hm?"

"Do you…know anything else about this man?" Feliciano asked. "Veneziano?"

"No…but by the look on your face, the both of us are the only ones who can talk to him." Ivan stated.

"…I can't trust you, but…you're the only one I can rely on when it comes to Veneziano…" He looked up. "Will you hurt anyone?"

"Only if the boss says to." Ivan smiled. "And that boss is you."

"…OK." Feliciano shivered.

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[IVAN]**- _Psychic powers. It varies for teleportation to mind reading._ Vitula: Forehead.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**OK, much of the explanations are going to be in the next chapter. So I'm going to let you dangle. Dangle dangle dangle…HAHAHAHA!**


	16. Heilrich's Story

**Yes, this chapter has explanations. Yes. Exactly. So whoever was looking for them is going to get them…most of them, anyway. Cause giving you all the answers isn't going to be fun, duh!**

_***snaps string dangling readers***_

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Run Alone the Theme of the Day" by RomaHeta=/**

"My name is Ivan. I hope we can be good friends, _da?"_

"We're going to be the greatest of friends, _da ze!"_ Yong Soo chirped.

"Uh…yeah…"

Feliciano stood there in confusion as Ivan smiled in his creepy sort of way in front of the others. There was a knock on the door, and they turned their heads to see that Toris was there with a smile on his face, holding a packet of paper and pins.

"Yong Soo? Where did you want me to put this stuff?"

"Oh, just put them in the computer room so Eduard can sort them out." He answered.

That's when something happened. It was more in the area where Ivan caught Toris's line of sight…and smiled an Ivan smile. And by the look on everyone's faces, an Ivan smile is _**freakin' creepy.**_ Toris backed up a bit, shivering as Ivan walked closer to him.

"Hi there…"

"…hi?" Toris blinked.

"My name is Ivan." He smiled. "Who are you?"

"…Toris."

"Toris. I like that name." He placed two hands on his shoulders. "Would you like to be one with me?"

From the corner of the room, people could've sworn that Elizabeta was dying of laughter. Poor Toris was trying his best to say no, but for some reason Ivan had an almost unhealthy obsession with this poor boy. Feliciano was getting so creeped out, he decided to leave the room…and then the building.

**/="Iris" by Professor Layton: The Diabolical Box=/**

After getting a good distance away from the building, Feliciano looked up and saw that Ludwig was sitting on the grassy plains, holding his shoulders. He gasped, causing the blond to jump up in a counter and the poor boy to jump up in shock. They both quickly relaxed.

"Oh. It's just you." Ludwig shook his head. "How long were you there?"

"I…just came here." He answered. "D-did you want to be alone?"

"Yes…but I can't do anything about it now."

"Um…you want me to leave?" Feliciano sounded disappointed.

"You don't have to." Ludwig sighed again. "I'm just looking at the view."

"Ve~~~the view really is pretty!"

Feliciano plopped next to Ludwig, causing the blond to shake his head and look away. The brunette looked over the hill and saw that it was a beautiful view of the town, the Church looming beautifully on the other half and the buildings were surrounded by trees, accenting a beautiful ocean side. They could hear the ocean crash on shore from their current location.

_It's the ocean…_

He closed his eyes as he remembered the ocean side. He could clearly remember everything from that first day: the warmth of the sun on his skin, the tingling of muscles that had been still for an endless time, the crash of the ocean waves around him…

"Feliciano? Are you OK?"

"Eh?" He turned to Ludwig.

"You've been zoning out for a while. Is something wrong?"

"No…nothing's wrong…it's just…" He turned to the ocean. "I was remembering something…"

"W-what was it?"

"…the day I woke up." Feliciano couldn't bring himself to lie to him. "The first day of my life."

"Your…first day." Ludwig thought it was odd. People don't remember the day they were born.

"The day I woke up with amnesia."

"Oh." He recalled that he mentioned something about this a long time ago. "How did it…?"

"I woke up in the ocean and I felt like I was floating on air. The sun was the only indication that I had a body and feelings." He leaned his head on his arms. "I was alone…and all I can do is panic, wonder who I was…and then I met Seyel and Matthew…then I didn't feel alone again.

"Speaking of your memory…how is that working out?"

"I don't…remember anything. The only thing I found about myself is Veneziano."

That name alone made him shiver. He wasn't in control of his body, and yet he remembered everything that he did: he was fighting Ivan, but at the same time Ivan was telling him about something. He turned toward everyone and Ludwig dropped in pain…

In pain…

Feliciano darted toward Ludwig, startling the blond man. His gaze turned toward his shoulders, barely remembering that the _Vitula_ was shining and spreading like a parasite in his presence. Ludwig looked at him, knowing what he was thinking, and covered his shoulders.

"You're not the only one with secrets." He stated.

"At least you know yours." Feliciano sighed. "But…what happened back there? To your _Vitula?"_

Ludwig looked down, unable to say anything. It was then that Feliciano knew that he had entered into territory that he didn't want to go into. He instantly felt guilty about asking him, and looked away again, holding his legs close to his shaking chest.

"…um…"

"I'm different from the others…just like you." Ludwig looked at him. "But I think you already know that."

Feliciano knew that he was different. His very presence makes him tremble, his booming voice scares him like he wouldn't believe, and yet his touch _(oddly gentle)_ was so memorable for no explainable reason. But he never thought that Ludwig himself would know of this.

Before they knew it, Ludwig activated his _Vitula_, allowing him to see it. Feliciano saw that it was spread all around his shoulders and neck, but he noticed that it was different from other _Vitula_ that he had seen. It didn't look like symbols or glyphs, but rather it looked like decorated scars created by a sadistic fighter. Some of them even looked like eyes.

"Ludwig…"

"I was given this a long time ago…despite the fact that my body can't handle it." He answered. "It's a miracle that I'm still alive."

Feliciano's eyes widened. Instantly, he recalled his discussion with Eduard. They were talking about the Creation Project…and how thousands of children died for the sake of the future. There were only two marked survivors: Pangaea and…

"You're…Heilrich…"

Ludwig didn't say anything, instead only looking at Feliciano's shocked look on his face. The little boy that he had been seeing in his visions…they did look so much alike…

"Everyone told me that you were dead…"

"It would explain why I was left alone." He sighed.

"So…is Heilrich your real name?"

"No…I was named that after the creator of the Church. They said I bore a resemblance to him and thought it was an appropriate name to give me." Ludwig looked up to the sky. "I only remembered my name when I met Kiku. I think I was seven at the time."

"So…Kiku knows of you…being…"

"Yes. And he has kept his mouth shut…thank goodness."

"…why are you telling me this?"

"…for some reason, I can't bring myself to lie to you."

"…me neither…" Feliciano looked down, blushing. "Veneziano…he…he said that he was me."

"He's…you?"

"I…I don't know anymore!" He sobbed. "He told me that he was the real me and he never told me what he meant! And now that I know that he can take me over like that…I…"

Ludwig lightly took his hand, shocking Feliciano. He looked up and felt all the blood rushing to his face. His mind instantly cleared up, and with that thought he found himself sinking deeper and deeper into Ludwig's eyes. It seemed to be asking him one thing.

"…I won't…tell anyone."

"Thank you…"

Feliciano suddenly found himself hugging the blond, yet he made no move to push him away. His face hovered on his shoulder, wondering how in the world a _Vitula_ falsely pushed onto a person would affect someone's body. The only thing he found himself wishing for was that he would never leave his side.

_Is…is this fear?_ He wondered. _It's…different from when I'm around Ivan._

It didn't matter. Whatever this was, he never wanted it to end.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**Short chapter…but at least you got an answer XD**

**OK, so it's not that big of an explanation…but I decided to give you something worth of plot relevance. People probably saw this coming. So…hush.**


	17. Attack on the Guild!

**So it turns out that Ludwig was Heilrich. Told you that saying that he was Holy Roman Empire was a hint **_***wink wink*… *shot***_

…

**Rizal****- Well, there goes the opening notes…**

**Charice****- Someone has to read them…**

**Liara****- I got it… **_***takes papers***_** "I hope you guys had fun with the short chapter and I hope that it helped you in your dangling process. And now we're going to go back into plot relevance and not character development, cause that's just what people want."**

**Rizal****- …that's it?**

**Liara****- That's it.**

**Rizal****- Well, we should probably load the game then.**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Run Alone the Theme of Day" by RomaHeta=/**

After a while, Feliciano and Ludwig deemed that it was safe to return to the headquarters. Once they got there, they were shocked to see that Ivan was following Toris around in some form of crazy interest. As everyone else was wondering whether or not to interfere, Kiku took it as an opportunity to join the returning two men.

"You probably should've stayed where you were hiding." He chuckled. "Everyone here is going insane."

"I can see that…" Ludwig held his head. "What the hell is going on?"

"Well, Ivan took a strange interest in Toris and…" Kiku looked up. "Oh dear."

"W-what?" Feliciano blinked.

"He's stalking Gilbert now."

_**FANTASTIC.**_

Ivan was pressing Raivis's head down for some reason as he was slinking slowly toward a terrified Gilbert. At least the five minutes of the two running down the street with one of them screaming like a girl _(we'll let you guess who that was)_ was a little entertaining.

"Ve~~~that's getting creepy…"

"You're telling me, da ze."

_**HOLY CRAP!**_ Where the hell did Yong Soo come from? Five seconds later, and Feliciano was dangling from Ludwig's arm screaming so high his voice uncracked _(if something like that is even possible)_. He only laughed at the terrified look on his face.

"Anyway…I need to get you out of here!"

"Eh? W-why?"

"Duh! Ivan's getting interested in everyone here! I need to smuggle you out before he decides to stalk you too!" He grabbed his arm. "Kiku-sa, Lud-sa, I need you two to be distractions!"

"Eh?"

"See ya!"

_***Gone in a flash***_

**/="Guldove ~Another World~" by Chrono Cross=/**

"W-will they be OK?"

"They have powers, Feli-ku! They'll be fine!"

"B-but…so do Toris and Gilbert! And you said they aren't fine!"

"Oh…oh well!"

Yong Soo started laughing obnoxiously, making Feliciano shiver. He looked around at the people shopping for their groceries and the little children running around playing with their fake swords. Feliciano couldn't help but smile, thinking of what his childhood was like…if he could remember it.

From the corner of his eye, he caught Roderich wandering around minding his own business. Feliciano couldn't help but wonder how weird it was for nobles to make their own cooking when he noticed a blond girl running around the area. She looked like she was mumbling something to herself when he suddenly noticed something glow on her neck. _Was it a Vitula?_

**/=For the first time…TOTAL SILENCE=/**

Suddenly, he felt someone touch his shoulder. A shock ran down his spine, and he quickly turned toward Yong Soo, who was staring back at him. Someone was touching both their shoulders. They looked up and saw that Roderich had suddenly teleported to their sides, his cheek glowing.

"E-eh?" Yong Soo looked around. "E-everyone's frozen!"

"_Ssh."_ Roderich squeezed his shoulder. _"Be quiet for now. We don't want to get caught yet."_

The both of them quickly complied. Feliciano froze as tightly as he could, trying his best not to turn his head as he looked around him. He was shocked: everyone was frozen in time. At first he thought it was some form of trick, but then he realized that someone was juggling in front of some children to entertain them. _**The balls were hovering in the air…**_

"_Um…if I can ask…what happened to everyone?"_ Yong Soo asked. _"Why are they not moving?"_

"_They're frozen in time."_ He answered. _"Erika's__ [1]__ using her powers again…"_

Feliciano looked at the girl as she was looking around cautiously in front of the fruit basket. Suddenly, she took four apples and stuffed them in her backpack. She did the same to the bread stacks and bottles of milk. Yong Soo looked at Roderich, who was staring at her as if it was going to get her attention. Sure enough, it actually did.

"Ah-! R-Roderich!"

**/="The Theme of Awakening and Bugeoning –behind the scenes-" by RomaHeta=/**

Instantly, Roderich lifted his hands, freeing the other two boys from his grasp. Half a second later, he darted his head around and lifted his hand. Sure enough, his palm was touching the end of a gun and an extremely mad blond boy on the other end of it. His eyes were glowing, but it didn't look anything like Yong Soo's.

"Stay out of the way, Roderich." He ordered. "Before I blow a hole in your brain."

"You know that I can prevent you from doing that." He prepped his glasses. "Or have you forgotten what I can do?"

"No, I haven't forgotten." The boy smirked. "But remember, I can still blow a pretty big hole in your head."

"_Uh…Feli-ku…"_ Yong Soo did his best not to make any sudden movements. _"Do something!"_

He didn't have to say anything. He had to be inconspicuous, but…how? Instantly, he had the image of a light green-armored knight in his head, with a smiling Veneziano behind it. Before Feliciano could ask anything, he found himself sinking into the knight's armor…

"_E-eh?"_ Yong Soo darted his eyes around. _"W-where did Feli-ku go?"_

Half a second later, a knight appeared out of thin air, grabbing the gun and aiming it away from Roderich. The armor looked thin on him, and the helmet was covering his face, but it was clear who it was by a familiar looking curl popping out of the side of the eyepiece.

"Whoa! It's Feli-ku!" Yong Soo chirped, not even caring that he was moving anymore. "Dude, I didn't know you can do that!"

"What the-?" The boy looked at Roderich. "So you're improving now, aren't you?"

"_**That's enough."**_ The armored man said. His voice sounded nothing like Feliciano's. _**"Let's not fight here with these many victims. Any one of them can get hurt even in this space."**_

Everyone stood there in silence before the boy lowered his arm and the gun. Erika looked down in guilt as she allowed time to flow again, Feliciano quickly reverting to his normal form. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Yong Soo jumped to Erika's side.

"Mind if I pay for you?"

"Eh?"

"I don't mind, da ze! We're just _**flourishing**_ with money right now!"

"…flourishing?" Erika blinked. "You work in a guild?"

"Of course we do, da ze!" He answered, paying for the food without a second thought _(much to the other guy's surprise)_. "That's where we get money."

"You work for the Church then?" The boy hid his gun.

"No, of course not!" Yong Soo chirped. "We aren't that religious."

"You work for TriPenta?" The boy was now extremely confused.

"No." Yong Soo laughed at everyone's confusion. "We're the third party known as Hetalia! It's just as good as the other choices, only a _lot_ cheaper!"

"Roderich, who is he?" Feliciano looked at the blond. "Do you know him?"

"Acquaintances." Roderich answered. "His name is Vash Zwingli. She's Erika Vogel. They both work for TriPenta."

At the word TriPenta, Feliciano couldn't help but shiver. He knew that it wasn't a good idea to do that, but it was a reaction he couldn't really hold back. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Vash had seen his shiver and scoffed at his reaction.

"Does everyone have to connect TriPenta with _that__?_ It's old history now." He spat. "Besides, me and Erika weren't even there when the incident occurred."

"Eh? I-I'm sorry! I didn't even know that I did that!" He started massively waving his hands around.

"Don't mind him. He's just oblivious." Roderich shook his head. "And, quite frankly, an idiot."

"And our boss!" Yong Soo swung his arms around. "He's awesome, even if he is an idiot!"

"Thank you, Yong Soo!" Feliciano chirped.

Yep, totally an idiot.

"Roderich…since when did you bother to put your problems on the small people?" Vash asked. "Isn't your family on good ties with the Church? I thought you'd go to them, especially since they have the support of _**Chikyuu."**_

"First of all, I didn't want anyone's help. I only took one other person. It was Elizabeta that went to them." Roderich stated. "Nonetheless, these people are not to be underestimated. I won't be surprised if the idiot behind me is at your level."

"Eh?" Feliciano was going to get dragged into this?

"What makes you say that?" Vash spat.

"Dude, haven't you seen him before in that suit of armor?" Yong Soo pointed out. "He could beat you no problem!"

"Uh…I-I don't want to be taken into this…"

"I want to see this for myself." Vash lifted up his gun. "Are you ready?"

"Eh?" Here? _**NOW?**_

Vash was about to run into the battle when he heard someone calling. They looked up and saw that it was Elizabeta charging right at them, a semi-worried look on her face. Feliciano sighed, relieved that he was not going to fight someone that he really didn't want to battle.

"What's going on, da ze?" Yong Soo asked.

"There are monsters attacking the guild!" She panicked. "They told me to get you as quickly as possible!"

"Wait…is Matthew there?" Feliciano asked.

"No…"

"Find him!" Feliciano ordered. "He can talk to them, so maybe he can get them to leave!"

Elizabeta was startled, but then nodded and ran deeper into the town. Meanwhile, the rest of them looked at each other and dashed as quickly as they could toward the guild _(Vash had to follow because Erika was following the others…she was so nice sometimes)_.

**/="Hyoi Gattai" by Shaman King=/**

The guild building was slowly rising up on the horizon. As Feliciano ran closer and closer to the building, he could see Lovino kicking a monster out of the way, throwing it in front of five others. Quickly he summoned the green-armored knight from before and fused with it, lifting his lance and clearing them away from Kiku.

"Thank you, Feliciano." He answered.

"_**Don't worry about it."**_ Feliciano chirped, his curl bouncing up and down. _**"Is anyone hurt?"**_

"Everyone is fine for now…" Kiku slashed a few of the monsters. "It's a small group, so we can handle ourselves if they don't call for reinforcements."

A huge monster came out of nowhere, startling the both of them. A crack of a whip echoed an earshot away, and they turned to see that Ludwig had straightened his whip out for another attack. Just the cold, serious glare in his eyes made Feliciano very grateful that they were on the same side. One cry later, and he was back to fighting.

He looked up and saw that Vash was covering Roderich with his gun as his music started to throw meteors onto the people. On the other side of the stage, Seyel and Raivis were attacking their own share of birds. Feliciano looked up and saw that Eduard was handling himself on his own, casting small spells that was holding them at bay. Just in case, Húdié Mei was at his side.

"Oi! Are you ready for me? Let's do this!"

Feliciano was fighting when he looked up and saw that Lovino was handling an entire group of wolves all on his own. Before he could even go to fight, Lovino was thrown against one of the walls. Feliciano quickly jumped to his side, Toris oddly following suit. He knelt down to his side.

"His head's bleeding…" Toris stated.

"_**Fratello…! Are you OK?"**_

"…_I can…still fight…dammit."_

He was trying his best to stand up, but after five tries he passed out. Feliciano panicked, trying his best to try to move him, but he was out. Toris bit his lip before lifting his hand on top of Lovino's head. Instantly, Feliciano saw Toris's right hand glowing, almost forming the image of the bones in his fingers. The same symbol appeared on top of Lovino's forehead, and instantly his eyes opened…but they were dead.

"_**Lovi-kun?"**_ Feliciano gasped.

"He's still unconscious, but it's OK. I know what I'm doing, and I won't hurt him…willingly." Toris clapped his hands together, and Feliciano saw the same symbol that was on Lovino's forehead on his left palm. "I really hope he can forgive me, cause…this is going to be a little much to him…"

Toris slowly lifted his right hand, and Feliciano saw in shock as Lovino slowly levitated to his feet. His left hand began to glow as he threw his right arm forward, and Feliciano watched as Lovino dashed toward the wolves and continued to attack like he didn't pass out.

"_**What did you just do?"**_ Feliciano asked.

"It's…my ability. It's weak, but if they're unconscious I can still use it." Toris answered. "Quick! These monsters keep coming and we can't handle them on our own!"

"_**R-right!"**_

Feliciano stood up and continued to attack them as much as he could, Lovino's well-being sticking quickly in his mind. He knocked that out of his mind, knowing that Toris won't ever hurt him and placing his full trust in him. A gunshot rang out from behind him, and he turned his head to see that the monster behind him was knocked to the ground. However, when he turned his head around, it turned out that it was Vash that shot him.

"Anyone call for the hero?"

**/="Break Through with the Sword" by Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2=/**

_**Chikyuu?**_

Feliciano looked up as he saw Alfred reload his revolver in his hand. From behind, he could see Arthur dash into the scene, casting spells on the run. Another blond man ran _(actually, more like danced)_ into the scene, a rapier in his hand and the dancing of rose petals with each parry. As Feliciano slashed through the attack, a brown-haired man walked into the scene with a smile on his face, a vine-like symbol on his left arm and plants literally throwing monsters in the air.

"So the Church finally gets someone over here!" Vash spat. "What took you so long?"

"We heard that woman calling for someone to help you guys, so we came running!" Alfred shot five other guys. "You up for a high score battle?"

"First one to hit fifty?"

"Totally."

Soon enough, the both of them became trigger-happy. Arthur openly chastised them as he was zapping away a few other monsters. Feliciano, on the other hand, was getting extremely tired from the endless fighting. He wanted someone to end this soon…cause he himself was on the verge of passing out.

"All right, I'm here! Get the hell out of the way if you don't want to get hurt!"

Everyone turned their heads and saw that there were two figures on the top of the hill. One of them was clearly Elizabeta, but the other one was questionable because his face was hidden in the hood. His hand was up, holding a beautiful golden Lira at his finger. When he lifted his hand up, he was shocked to see that it was _**MATTHEW?**_

"Isn't that your brother?" The brunette asked.

"Holy heck, it is!" Alfred gasped.

Wait, _Alfred and Matthew were brothers?_ No wonder they looked the same…

"Lira, go!"

Matthew threw the bird into the crowd, watching it spin rapidly into the heart of the circle. Once it landed in the middle of the ground, a huge yellow light erupted that pushed all of the monsters back. Five seconds later, everyone stepped forward and saw that the fighting was now over. Feliciano slowly returned to normal, the knight sinking into the notebook…

And the strange blond man quickly appeared at his side.

**/="Golden Sneer" by Umineko no Naku Koro Ni=/**

"Well well…your real appearance is quite stunning, no?"

"E-eh?" Feliciano stared at him. "W-who are you?"

"You may call me Francis." The blond man leaned closer. "And you are…?"

"F-Feliciano…I'm the leader of this guild…" The distance was freaking him out.

"_Interesting…someone so innocent running such a big responsibility."_ Francis was getting way too close. _"This isn't too much for you, isn't it?"_

"N-no…" _Panic attack. __**PANICK ATTACK!**_

_***ultimate German assault on the French lands***_

Feliciano stumbled a bit, shocked at the lack of support, and was quickly caught by Ludwig. It quickly recalled the thought that he was in Ludwig's arms once before, and it was making the blush on his face even worse. That made Francis laugh even more, up to the point where Yïngguó Shi _(where the heck did he come from?)_ smacked him yet again.

"Good Christ, bro." Matthew walked to Alfred's side. "You're hanging out with pedophiles, you know that?"

"Really?" Alfred asked, somewhat nervous of Matthew's suddenly raised voice. "I didn't notice that."

"That's because you barely passed the minor age! [2]"

They were arguing for a few minutes before they realized that everyone was staring at them, shocked that the rather quiet Matthew Williams was now screaming his head off and clearly scaring out of everyone in the area _(except for Lovino…cause, you know, he's still passed out)_.

"Uh…what's going on?"

Seyel took that as an opportunity to sneak up from behind Matthew and pull his hood off. He did curse about for about half a second, but after that, something snapped in his mind. Matthew looked around and took a quick glance at Alfred before gasping and bowing.

"_A-Alfred!"_ He gasped. _"I-I didn't see you! When did you get here?"_

"Uh…just now?"

Meanwhile, everyone in the room was thinking _**WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?**_

Before they knew it, they heard Raivis calling for someone to duck. Everyone looked up and noticed that there was one more monster heading toward them, most notably the brown-haired man with the khaki outfit. Suddenly, Toris gasped as his fingers twitched. The man was about to counterattack when Lovino _(still unconscious, mind you)_ came out of nowhere and threw him out of the way.

"Antonio!" Gilbert called out of nowhere _(how in the world did he know him?)_ as he dashed nearby. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine…I'm-"

He looked up and saw as Lovino turned toward him with his dead eyes before collapsing into his arms, the symbol snapping into pieces. Feliciano began to panic and ran toward Toris, who was staring at his fingertips with a confused look on his face.

"Toris…why did you do that…?" Feliciano asked. "Lovino's been pushed already with what happened before!"

"Th-that's the thing! I didn't do that!" Toris said. "He was moving on his own will!"

_Well, that's confusing…what would that mean?_

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[1]****Erika**** is Lietchenstein. It was one of the possible names that Himayura has given her. Her possible surname is also given to be "Vogel", so I've included that in there as well.**

**[ERIKA]- **_Can freeze time temporarily. The longer she keeps it up, the more strain it is on her body. _Vitula: Around the neck

**[VASH]-** _Sees people's weak spots. 100% accuracy and can basically turn anything into a projectile. _Vitula: Eyes

**[TORIS]- **_Can manipulate movement of a human like a puppet. At his level of power, slight resistance can shatter connection, so it's focused toward the unconscious._ Vitula: Veins of right hand and palm of left

**[ANTONIO]- **_Plant manipulation. _Vitula: Left arm

**[FRANCIS]-** _Emotional manipulation. He can also accelerate or decelerate anything in the body, like adrenaline._ Vitula: Neck, but not like Erika's

**[2] ****The age where a person becomes an adult in America is 18. Alfred's human age is estimated to be 19.**

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**I just remembered something really weird: when I was writing this, the main character was supposed to be Arthur and this was supposed to be US x UK. What the heck happened?**

**Anywhos, to all the common readers: HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND I WILL UPDATE!**


	18. Neutral Third Territory

**Yay, first chapter of the new year! Happy joy? Totally! Hope you guys have fun!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Kyoudan no Ichinchi" by D. Gray Man=/**

The newcomer named Antonio insisted on carrying Lovino inside the guild when they went in for a discussion. What really creeped them out was that Antonio was sitting by his side the entire time. Antonio was also staring at Feliciano as well, causing Ludwig to give him a protective hug _(which would've sent Lovino into fits…if he was awake)_.

"So you're a third party guild?" Francis asked, leaning forward.

"Yes, we are. We're not affiliated with the Church or TriPenta." Húdié Mei stated. "That doesn't make us enemies; it just means that or boss is not placing choices based off of religion or beliefs."

"And…your leader is…that guy?"

"Ve~~~yes, that's me." Feliciano lifted his hand. "B-but Yong Soo's my second-in-command!"

"That's right, da ze!" He chirped, the curl making its own smile. "I'm Feli-ku's right hand man!"

"That still doesn't explain how this guild is still _**running."**_ Vash sighed.

"Cause we're all running it." Yïngguó Shi answered. "Húdié Mei and Yong Soo manage the finances and Feliciano hypothetically is the leader of the guild…but there's no social system."

"Well, you're still new, so it would explain why you haven't collapsed as of yet." Arthur sighed.

"I think what they're doing is a great thing!" Erika clasped her hands together. "And the fact that the leader is a kind and caring young man too…"

Feliciano blushed and rubbed the back of his head. He was never praised like this before. Or maybe it was once before, but he couldn't recall it at the time. Anyway, the fact that Ludwig was at his side basically made his mind fail to even work. With so much going on however, he was too distracted to be nervous about being by his side.

"Well, I would say that him being an idiot is a liability, but…" Arthur looked at Feliciano. "He does have a rather powerful ability at his disposal."

"What is it, anyway?" Alfred asked. "To change forms?"

"No, of course not! That's only a part of it!" Feliciano blurted out. "Everything I draw comes to life!"

"You can bring art to life?" Francis blinked.

"Well, I'll judge on that one thing: how good is your artwork?"

Without so much as skipping a beat, Feliciano lifted up his notebook and flipped to the page where it had three little summon spirit starfish. It looked really cute. Five seconds, his chest started to glow and saw the summon spirits erupt from the pages and fly around the people. Arthur sat there, surprised at the turn of events.

"I don't draw anything past one page!" He chirped. "And I don't do anything too detailed! It's harder to fuse with!"

"Wow, that's impressive!" Antonio stared at the shining images. "You must have a whole bunch of these things!"

"I guess?" Feliciano blinked. "Can't remember."

"You're talented. I'll give you that." Vash sighed. "But seriously, you're the leader of this group?"

"Ve~~~yes, I am!" He exclaimed with a chirp.

"…that's weird."

"…_che. Don't doubt him…bastard."_

Everyone turned their heads to see that Lovino was snapping out of it. He slowly sat up and rubbed the back of his head, wondering what the heck happened to him. Looking up, he caught eye contact with Antonio. And suddenly Antonio's eyes began to just _sparkle._

"Hah…he's so **ADORABLE!"** He chirped, throwing himself next to him.

"_**What the **__**HELL**__**?"**_ Lovino jumped back. "Freakin' pervert, what's your _**problem?"**_

"My name's Antonio Hernandez Carriedo! I like tomatoes and anything cute! What's your name?"

"_**DAMMIT BASTARD **__**GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!**__**"**_

"Aw…you won't tell me your name?"

"It's Lovino, Antonio!" Feliciano chirped.

"Lovino, isn't it! Ah, it's so cute!" Antonio chirped. "Can I call you Lovi-kun?"

"It's **LOVINO!"**

"Ve~~~Lovi-kun…"

"_**GOD DAMMIT **__**ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!**__**"**_

He didn't sound happy.

"Why isn't he suffering from a brain hemorrhage from all that screaming?" Alfred asked.

"Cause he's as thick brained as you are."

He must've been telling the truth, since Alfred had no idea what Arthur was talking about. Meanwhile, everyone was watching as Antonio continued his odd fascination with Lovino and Ivan was showing his fascination to basically everyone in the room. Which, quite frankly, was scaring Feliciano.

**/="Understood" by Fragile Dreams=/**

"So now that we know that you're here, we can visit you whenever we want!" Alfred chirped. "It's nice to see a fellow guildsman at work!"

"We really do appreciate your company." Kiku bowed. "And we would love to see you again."

"I still think you're not going to last…" Vash sighed.

"Vash, really…they have great potential." Erika said. "Don't chastise them because they are new at this."

"…just saying…the world is cruel to newcomers."

"I'll see you again, my adorable Lovi-kun~!"

"_**IT'S LOVINO!"**_

Feliciano laughed as he watched everyone say their personal goodbyes toward the visitors. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Roderich and Ludwig were in a serious conversation in a language that he couldn't catch. He concluded that it wasn't an old language.

"That aura is still around you…"

The voice caught him off guard. He turned his head around and saw that Arthur was talking to him. His stare was definitely unnerving him, but he made no move to show that he was being intimidated.

"W-what aura?" He asked.

"Yours. You know, I've been meaning to ask you ever since I got here…but have you been to the Adel Temple today?"

"M-me? Well…Roderich was there as a hostage, so yes. We had to go in there." He answered.

"I figured as much…" Arthur darted his glance to Alfred. "Just this morning, I felt an energy spike in that location…and for some reason it felt a lot like yours…"

_Eh?_ He froze. _I-Is he talking about…?_

"I knew you weren't normal when I first saw you…" He stated. "What _is_ your story-"

"Your group is leaving, Arthur. Perhaps you should go to them before they leave you behind."

Feliciano jumped as he felt a huge hand plop itself on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw that it was Ivan, smiling as if he had wandered aimlessly into the conversation. Arthur turned his head and saw that Alfred was waving him over, and then sighed before joining him. Feliciano couldn't help but sigh.

"_If you're still curious, Feliciano…"_ Ivan whispered. _"He was talking about Veneziano."_

His head darted up.

"_So…I was right…"_ He turned back to Arthur. _"Why, though…?"_

"_He was thinking about that energy spike when Veneziano took you over."_ Ivan grinned. _"According to what I got from the others, he passed out when the spike got him."_

"_W-wait…how do you know this?"_

"_I read their minds."_

**O_O**

"_**You read their minds?"**_

"_It's not intrusion, da?"_

He decided not to think about it. The last thing he needed was for Ivan to read any more of his thoughts.

**/="Ventus' Theme" by Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep=/**

"Oi, fratello. I need to speak with you _**now.**__**"**_

Feliciano looked up from his sitting position and saw Lovino glaring back at him. The fact that they were brothers made him know that he was looking at him with concern. And last time he checked, Lovino couldn't show anything past sympathy.

"Ve~? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? _**What's wrong?**_ Remember Adel Temple? That Veneziano _**bastard?**__**"**_ Lovino dropped himself in the next seat. "Who the hell was that guy?"

"I…I don't know…" He honestly answered. "He just…came to me yesterday."

"Seriously? He didn't give you a warning about what's going on?"

"…no. He only said that he was the real me."

"The what?"

"The real me. Like he was me before I lost my memories…" Feliciano answered.

"Bullcrap. There's no way having memories is the only way to make someone uniquely badass." Lovino folded his arms. "Besides, he doesn't seem to care one _snap_ about you! What's his issue?"

"I…I don't know…but if he really is me…" Feliciano turned to Lovino. "Then who am I?"

"You're Feliciano, jackass. What else were you thinking?"

"Then…what he told me makes no sense."

"Ever since creepy white-haired bastard and extremely pedophile jerk came into our lives, I think nonsense is going to be the norm nowadays."

"…I…I guess so…"

"Don't listen to that bastard. All he has is his holy epicness and that robe. You have everyone else." Lovino looked at him with the most sympathetic face that a Vargas can give him _(which wasn't much)_, making Feliciano smile and rub his eyes. "He's just jealous that he can't call me a brother."

"Yeah…of course." Feliciano smiled. "Thank you, Lovino…"

"Che…whatever." He sighed. Which was basically the same as him saying _"you're welcome."_

"Are you hungry? I can make you dinner."

"I really don't give a crap."

"Are you sure, Lovi-kun?"

"_It's Lovino…"_

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**Finally, an update! Though…this feels more like filler to me. Damn.**


	19. Visit From The Past

**No filler! I'll do my best not to make this filler! Don't worry, there's going to be some form of story plot in here. **_**I JUST KNOW IT!**_

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Cheagle Woods" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

Feliciano could feel the sunlight on his skin when he woke up that morning. Looking around, he could barely hear the sound of someone walking downstairs and voices echoing in conversation. He got confused, so he quickly got dressed and slowly walked downstairs. His footsteps were oddly light, making him climbing down easier. He took a peek and saw Lovino talking to Húdié Mei.

"You serious? Yong Soo's doing a fucking round call?"

"Apparently. It sucks, I know. That's why I ditched them." She answered. "I hope I'm not bothering you."

"It's fine. I don't mind the company."

Feliciano hid from behind the stairs and was shocked at Lovino's face. He was actually being _**nice**_ and _**kind**_ to her! Since when can he do something like that? After a few minutes, he decided that he might as well go walk into the conversation. He yawned and stretched as he walked down the stairs.

"Oh, Feliciano!" She chirped. "Good morning!"

"Ve~~good morning." He answered. "I thought I heard someone familiar, Mei."

"I wanted to hide around here until Yong Soo relaxed on his round call…" She laughed. "He doesn't know where you live, so…"

"Ve~~? But he does." Feliciano answered. "He was here once before."

…

"He's going to come here for a round call."

"Che-? Are you serious?" Lovino turned to Feliciano. "We got to get the heck out of here."

"Before he comes?"

"_**GO!"**_

**/=+=/**

He didn't know what, but he ended up being in the city with Lovino dragging his hand. Halfway through his running, he realized that his _Vitula_ was pulsing heavily. At first he thought it was just hard work, then he realized the truth. After a few seconds, he was starting to lose eye sight.

"…_Lovino…?"_

"What the hell does he do with roll call?"

"Have you seen him? He gropes people when he sees you!" She answered with a whimper.

"That's horrible!"

"No kidding!" She shivered. "That kid seriously has no idea what's wrong or not…"

"…_L-Lovino…"_

"Holdin' up back there?" He called to him.

"_Lovino…I…"_

He felt his knees buckle from underneath him, and he collapsed to the floor. There was heavy ringing, and what was left of his vision told him that the others were buckling to their knees to check on him. Before his eyes completely fogged up, he could see Lovino's head turn up and calling to someone unseen.

**/="Holy Light" by Tales of Destiny=/**

His eyes opened up and he found himself surrounded by darkness. Looking up, he found a familiar face looking away from him. After a few seconds, the man realized that he was in the space and faced him with that odd blank face that he had.

"_Veneziano…"_

_**[You fell into this realm. That means it's close.]**_

"_It's…close? What's close?"_

_**[The beginning of everything…]**_

"_The beginning of what?"_

_**[The Wheel of Fate.]**_

"_What are you talking about?"_

_**[You're not needed here as of yet. You should return back to your realm.]**_

"…_will I know what you're talking about?"_

_**[One day…]**_

**/="Guldove ~Another World~" by Chrono Cross=/**

He felt familiar arms wrap around his shoulders and a small gasp escape his lips. Someone was rubbing his arm to introduce warmth, allowing blood flow to enter his eyelids. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up, seeing a familiar figure hovering over him.

"Seriously!" Lovino screamed. "How in the world is the potato bastard _**POPPING AROUND **__**EVERYWHERE**__**?"**_

"Shut up, at least Feliciano's OK." He looked down to him. _"Are you all right?"_

"_I'm…fine. I just tripped and hit my head…"_ He lied, trying to sound dizzy so that he can stay in his arms. _"But I'm OK…."_

Dang.

Ludwig slowly led Feliciano to his feet _(much to Lovino's argument)_. After a few minutes, he finally allowed his mind to steady his legs. Looking up, he saw Húdié Mei and Lovino looking back at him with fear in their eyes. He only smiled, succeeding in dispelling Húdié Mei's fear. Lovino's face said that he knew the truth.

"Hey, you four live around here? Do you know where I can get a place to live?"

Everyone turned their heads to see a young woman walking toward them. She had long red hair, bangs sweeping over one of her yellow eyes that was accented by her tan skin. She was wearing a black track suit, which traumatized him a little bit.

"There's a council hall down that way. They should be able to set you up with a living space." Húdié Mei answered.

"Thank you." Her voice was mature.

She nodded and turned to leave when she found herself looking at Ludwig. Her eyes widened as well as his. Feliciano blinked and tilted his head when he noticed that she suddenly leaped forward and hugged Ludwig with all her strength, scaring everyone.

"Heilrich! Oh my god! It's so good to see you!" She cried. "I thought you were dead!"

"W-wait…are you…?" He looked at her in shock. _"P-Pangaea…?"_

"Oh my god, you still remember me! That's so good!" She chirped. "But I don't go by that name anymore, just so you know. I'm Madre now!"

"Madre…well, if you must know, I don't call myself Heilrich anymore." He stood up. "I found out my real name…it's Ludwig."

"So you found your real name…you're so lucky…" She looked up. "These your friends?"

"Um…yeah." Ludwig was startled. "That's Húdié Mei and Lovino Vargas. The boy over there is his brother, F-"

"Oh my god, you're so cute!"

Before he knew it, Feliciano was being shoved into her breasts. It was supposed to be a hug…maybe. Not really sure what it was. But after a while, he found himself unable to breathe. It was indicated by a major waving of arms followed by him going limp.

"I don't think he's breathing." Ludwig blinked.

"Ah-! Oh, I'm sorry!" She pulled him back. "Are you OK?"

"_Ve~~~~~"_

"You're so cute! What's your name?"

"_Ve~~~~~"_

"Now **THAT'S** a cute name! Just one syllable too!"

"That's not his name…" Ludwig sighed and rubbed his head. "It's Feliciano."

"Feliciano? Aw, that's even _**cuter!"**_

"**VE-!"**

"Will you stop smothering my brother, please?"

After a few seconds, they had to resort to just trying to pull her off of him. They did do that…after a while. At that time, the damage was already done. Húdié Mei had to hold him up until he found his ability to breathe again. _Wait, how do you breathe again?_ He'll have to open his mouth…and…

And…

…

_Ve~~~~nothing's happening!_

"You're so cute, Feli-chan!" She chirped. "We should hang out more often!"

"…OK…" he finally exhaled.

Madre began to laugh out loud, startling everyone in the area before deciding to go over to the council hall. As she turned to leave, she winked at Feliciano _(much to his embarrassment)_. Suddenly, he saw a flash of a envious grin and his _Vitula_ flashed in response. He held himself back in confusion, but meanwhile Lovino thought it was because he was about to pass out again.

"Geez, don't push yourself…" He said.

"…I'm OK." He answered. "Really…"

**/="A Brighter Day" by Trauma Team=/**

After a bit of wandering around, Feliciano found himself back at the grassy hilltop overlooking the city. He looked up and saw that Ludwig was there too, a blank look on his face. All he had to do was chirp, and Ludwig beckoned him to join the gazing. He plopped right next to him.

"Ve~~~you knew that girl back there, didn't you?"

"She was Pangaea., the other survivor of the Creation Project." He answered. "She has a _Vitula_, last time I checked. In the middle of her chest."

"What was she like? Back then?"

"Just as cheery as she was now. Only her powers were a lot more painful to control." He sighed. "Even then, she stayed her place and always smiled. She would say that there would be hope for all of us."

"Was she the one who saved you from the project?"

"Yes…I guess that was the reason why we're still alive." He shook his head. "She said that in order for us to survive, we had to separate and go our own ways. She was right."

"It looks like you missed her."

Feliciano leaned in and saw that Ludwig was smiling, possibly from a good memory of her. It was then that he felt what he thought was jealousy. Was it because he had a memory to look fondly upon, while Feliciano had nothing to smile at?

_**[You're too human…Feliciano. Don't let your wishes come into your judgment.]**_

Feliciano jumped at Veneziano's random comment. Wasn't it OK to be a little envious of him because of memories? He was going to remember his past one of these days, so he didn't have to be envious for long. It was then that he realized that he was smiling because of Madre herself.

_He's smiling because of her…_ He thought. _Ve…I wish he could smile like that for me…_

Wait, where did that come from?

He blushed at that statement, making Ludwig turn his head in confusion. Feliciano quickly turned to the ocean, trying his best to hide his reddening face. After a few long minutes, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he had to turn his head to see if anyone else was there. But it was only him.

"Are you sure you're OK, though? From the collapse."

"…I'm fine, really." He smiled. "Don't worry about me."

For some reason, though…he felt like crying.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVING COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**Short chapter, but I'm going to throw something out here. There will be a huge time interval between this chapter and the next one, just because I don't want to write filler episodes **_**(which would be random missions just for comic relief)**_** and get on with the story plot. Hope none of you mind.**


	20. A Few Answers Are Given

**So like I was saying, I'm going into story plot than character development. Fortunately, there will be some character development in the story plot. Hopefully, no one minds :D**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Reala" by Tales of Destiny 2=/**

The weeks passed by boringly, the jobs being normal and nothing nerve wrecking.

Feliciano had to admit, it was a nice break towards the chaos that had been running his life when he started the guild. He found himself feeling normal, doing what he can do best without worrying about Veneziano interfering or breaking out into insanity. He wanted this to be a normal occurrence, but he knew that his past was going to come up in the end.

The girl calling herself Madre had been visiting them quite often, usually when Ludwig was in the building. She seemed to be extremely clingy to him, maybe because they haven't seen each other in years and they didn't have to hide their identities anymore. While Feliciano thought that it meant that they can talk about it openly, it just meant that they don't have to hide into a nearby room just to talk about the good old days.

As for jobs, most of them had to be asked around the city since no one was still able to fully trust a third-party company. But all of them were able to deliver _(even Toris when he's alone and can't use his Vitula)_, so in the end people did like the good change that they brought up.

In other news: Ivan is still stalking Toris and Gilbert, Lovino is getting stalked by that Antonio man that always seems to have free time on his hands, and Feliciano wasn't getting any closer to finding out anything about his past. And quite frankly, part of him didn't want to.

**/="What Can?" by Fragile Hearts=/**

_Feliciano…may I speak with you?_

He blinked, his head looking around in the empty room. There wasn't anyone in the area _(it was the busiest day of the guild and mostly everyone is on a mission)_, but the voice sounded oddly like Ivan. He rubbed the back of his head, extremely confused on who was talking to him at this moment.

_I'm just outside. You'll see me easily, da?_

Feliciano blinked again before walking out of the room. Sure enough, he found Ivan standing peacefully in front of the lobby door. Odd enough, he suddenly felt a strange chill down his back. Was there someone behind him or was that another effect of Ivan…?

"Your breasts belong to **ME****,** da ze!"

***you know what comes on here***

"Well there you are, Yong Soo." Ivan smiled. "I thought you were too dense to get my message."

"I heard it, da ze! Cause mental messages originated in me!" He jumped away with a grin. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, during one of my missions I happen to cross some bit of information that I wanted to discuss with the both of you." Ivan turned to them. "Do any of you know any information about a man named Yao Wang?"

"Hm…no, nothing." Feliciano answered.

"Not ringin' a bell!" Yong Soo chirped.

"If you are willing to hear it, I might be of some assistance."

Everyone turned their heads around and saw the ever available Eduard appear from his computer room. He doesn't really go out on a mission unless he extremely had to _(in this case, he didn't have to)_, so he was home. Feliciano saw as he flipped open a small book in his hand.

"From what I was able to collect from the library, Yao Wang is a Gekozen whose ability has given him immortality. That ability has given him a vast amount of knowledge about certain topics and is usually associated as a wise man." He answered. "No one knows what he actually looks like, but rumors say that his _Vitula_ is actually engraved on his soul."

"Well then, I'll know where he is! My eyes have never lied to me!" Yong Soo chirped. "So Ivan, since when did you get so interested in this guy?"

"I was just thinking about how old this man could be, and then I thought on how he might have information that we might need. In fact, you crossed my mind." Ivan pointed to Feliciano. "As far as I'm concerned, Veneziano is a whole set of questions for you."

"Ve~~~I don't think Veneziano knows this Yao person." He stated.

"That is a broad subject to aim forward, of course, but I'm thinking about something else. Ever since I came here, I've noticed that Veneziano is a lot different from the rest of us." Ivan stated. "If Yao doesn't know who he is, at least he can give us a clue on what he might be."

"…that sounds like a good idea." Feliciano sighed.

"If you three are curious, he was born toward the Panda Cliffs and is rumored to live around those areas." Eduard stated. "I would love to come with you, but I have to tend to Hetalia's finances."

"Don't worry! The three of us can go ourselves!" Yong Soo chirped. "We're going **NOW**, da ze!"

Feliciano stood there in confusion. While he wanted to know more about his past and how he might be connected to Veneziano, part of him didn't want to, while a small nagging voice from the back of his head said that he'll deeply regret what he will find out.

**/="Lost Forest" by Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box=/**

The trees in the cliffs looked so different from the other trees he had ever seen in his life. They looked more like rods and felt just as hard than ordinary trees. Yong Soo didn't seem to mind, talking about something on the premise of how this is commonplace in his hometown.

"Some people use these bamboo roots and use them as actual weapons!" Yong Soo chirped. "They're really sturdy and we make houses out of them!"

"That's interesting, da?" Ivan chirped. "You hear that, Feliciano?"

"Yeah. It's hard enough." He tapped the bamboo and then rubbed his knuckles in pain. "It hurts…"

"Well, that's why we use it, da ze!" Yong Soo chirped before stopping. "Oh-! I got a reading!"

"Y-you do?" Feliciano gasped. "Where?"

Yong Soo pranced forward, causing Ivan and Feliciano to follow. After a few long minutes of trying to follow them, they found themselves at the edge of one of the cliffs with a person standing out watching the sun as it barely reached the sunset position. The man had long black hair and a green uniform, his back to the three of them.

"_H-he's not paying attention…"_ Feliciano blinked. _"S-should we-?"_

"Your breasts belong to ME, da ze!"

And without warning, he grabbed Yao Wang's boobs. Way to go, Yong Soo. Way to go.

Well, at least Ivan's happy.

"_**Aiyaaa!**_ What the heck, aru?" He backed up. "What's your _**problem?"**_

"Hello there, da ze! We're here to ask questions!" Yong Soo jumped back.

"Wha-? You could just tap my shoulder!" Yao spat. "Geez, can I at least get your names, aru?"

"Im Yong Soo, da ze!" He chirped. "The tall guy's Ivan, and he's Feliciano Vargas! We're going to ask about him!"

"Uh…hi."

Yao Wang looked at Feliciano and instantly looked extremely confused. Suddenly, he approached him and stopped just a few inches from his face, startling the poor boy to back up. Yao looked him up and down in confusion before poking him.

"Show me your _Vitula."_

Feliciano hesitated, but then he slowly unbuttoned his shirt and revealed his chest. He took a few breaths before he activated his _Vitula_ in front of him. Yao stared at the symbol on his chest for a few minutes before backing up and rubbing his chin.

"_That's insane, aru. Their auras are almost exactly the same…"_

"A-aura?" Feliciano blinked.

"What auras are you talking about, Yao?" Ivan asked.

"…do you really want to know?" Yao asked.

"I have no choice…I woke up one day without anything except my name." Feliciano looked down. "Not only that, but now I have a strange voice in my head…he has the same face as I do and he says that he's the real me…is he the real me, Yao? Can you find him inside me?"

"…there is a difference in the both of you, but it seems extremely small, almost as if they're different thoughts." Yao closed his eyes. "But you both are the same person…in the same cog."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Yao…what is his aura the same as?" Yong Soo asked. "Who are you talking about?"

"Not who. What. His aura share similarities to the aura that is wreaking havoc on this world…they share the same, but…"

"W-wait…you mean…?"

"Your aura…shares massive similarities to the Iniquum."

He froze,

"Wait a minute!" Yong Soo jumped. "How in the world would you know what the Iniquum's aura is like?"

"All I know is that there is great power in that boy…but it's the strongest that I have ever felt, aru…even more than mine and similar to those that were left behind in the destruction of the Earth…" Yao turned away. "I might be wrong, but…that is the only answer that I can give you."

Feliciano could only shake in shock, his eyes wide in horror. His mind started dancing with questions: he was the Iniquum? The one that was supposed to destroy the world? He was going to kill everyone? But why?

"Don't believe it, da ze." Yong Soo said. "You're not the Iniquum."

"…Feliciano…you can't even smack yourself in the mirror." Ivan stated. "You're Feliciano."

Unbeknownst to them, Sadiq was listening from just a few feet away. He was staring at them with a blank look on his face when he heard the wind blow around him. He turned to his companion with a look of interest on his face.

"_Can you believe it? That innocent soul is the one destined to destroy the Earth…"_

"Huh…never thought he'd be that destructive." He grinned. "I just thought he was strong."

"_He's still weak…we can warn the world and destroy him while we still have a chance."_

"Lead the way…Madre."

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[YAO]- **_Immortality and the sound amplification. _Vitula: Soul

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVING COMPLETE.**


	21. Revelations

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Ventus' Theme" by Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep=/**

Feliciano walked home in a daze, Ivan and Yong Soo the only people keeping him on the path back home. None of them could blame him for what he was thinking: being told that he was fated to destroy the world really does suck for them. His mind started to spiral downward.

_I'm going to kill everyone in the future. It's my destiny._ He shook his head. _No…I can't do that. They won't die. They will be able to fight back. They're strong; they'll be able to stop me if I…_

He looked up and saw that Elizabeta was standing at the entrance to the town, where he found himself sighing. Right now, he just wanted someone else to talk too. He looked at Ivan with pleading eyes, who nodded and proceeded to push Yong Soo out of the way, leaving him alone. That's when Elizabeta noticed him.

"Oh, Feliciano!" She looked at him. "What's wrong? Did you fail a mission?"

"No…no I didn't." He sighed. He didn't want to tell anyone what he had seen. "I was just thinking about something."

"Were you? Perhaps I can help." She smiled. "What about?"

Feliciano paused. He couldn't tell her what had happened. He would have to cover it up…but with what? It would have to be plausible… He took a deep breath and said the first thing that came to his mind.

"…Ludwig."

Her eyes lit up as he suddenly realized that the blond man was in fact haunting his thoughts. He had even been trying to use him to distract his mind from the truth that he had been told. In fact, the blond man was a huge mystery to him ever since they first met. His reaction was different…but he was manipulated to kill the Iniquum…to kill him…

"What about him?" Elizabeta asked.

"I…I feel different around him." He stated. "I'm scared around him, but I don't know why."

"Scared?" Her eyes started to widen.

"I shiver when I'm around him…I can't think straight and I tremble in his presence…" He stated. "But I trust him now…why am I still scared of him?"

Was it because he was destined to be the one to take his life? Was it because, after all this time, Feliciano was going to kill everyone unless he does otherwise? Despite all these thoughts that were going through his mind, Elizabeta looked like this comment made her _**LIFE**_.

"Well then…let me ask you this." She said. "Think about Ludwig for me."

Feliciano closed his eyes as he remembered when he was talking about Madre with Ludwig. He felt blood pump deep in his veins and a strange warmth sinking through his arms and legs. When his eyes opened, he could feel his face burning. Meanwhile, Elizabeta was the happiest woman he had ever seen.

"Your cheeks are red." She said.

"Ve~? Th-they are?" He covered his face.

"Aww…you're not scared of him!" She squealed. "You're in _**LOVE**_ with him!"

"Ve~?" He blinked. "W-what's that?"

"It's the feeling deep within you…it tells you that you want to be with him forever! It's the thing that makes your heart flip over itself a thousand times over every time he passes you!" She sounded like a preacher. "You love Ludwig, don't you?"

"Uh…h-how would I know that?"

"…you just know it! Doesn't thinking about him make you happy?"

Feliciano thought about it. He remembered the time that Ludwig had carried him in the Adel Temple when he was unconscious. He recalled the time he accidentally fell on him when he was pushed back by Seyel. He mouthed every single word that Ludwig had told him when they were talking about Madre. Each thought brought a smile on his face, and then he wiped a tear as he chuckled.

"I-It does." He felt his cheeks warm. "I…I really do love him…"

Elizabeta had a look on her face that seemed to scream _**"YES, I finally found one!"**_, but he was too busy marveling in his revelation to realize that. What in his right mind told him that it was fear in the first place?

"You should tell him this!" She chirped. "He came back from his mission just a few minutes ago and he's heading toward the square!"

"Thank you!"

He sobbed tears of joy as he dashed away from her and headed toward the city. All the fear that he had from what happened seemingly vanished, becoming nonexistent. It was one of the many questions he had about himself, but unlike everything else, it was an answer that he had actually accepted.

_I love him…I love Ludwig…_ It seemed right when he said it in his head. _I know! I'll find him in the city and give him a BIG hug and say "hello! How was your mission?" Then I'll tell him…oh, but how do I tell him? Do I say it softly? Or can I just say it out loud, like a big __**"I LOVE YOU!"**__ Ve~~this is so confusing…why can't this be one of the few things I can remember?_

Feliciano finally found himself in the city, but then he realized that there was a huge crowd in the middle of the square. He couldn't see Ludwig anywhere in it, but he did catch Yong Soo and Ivan trying to dig through it.

**/=[Some silence, so that way your ears can recover]=/**

"What's going on?" He asked.

"I really don't know!" Yong Soo tried to push through. "We were just going back to the guild when this **GIGANTIC** crowd suddenly formed in front of us! Hey, get out of the way da ze!"

"Ve~~~! The crowd is so thick!" Feliciano looked up. "What's going on, Ivan?"

"From what I can see from here, there's someone talking to them." Ivan tilted his head in innocence. "Some woman with red hair…and extremely tan."

_Madre?_ He blinked. _What's she doing?_

Before Feliciano knew it, the crowd dispersed a little bit, allowing them to cross _("THANK YOU!" screamed Yong Soo)_. Once they got a little deeper through, he saw that it was indeed Madre speaking to them…and was that Sadiq? He shivered and hid behind Ivan.

"My people! I have come before you to give you a message that I have obtained while doing my duty as a member of this city!" She started. "I have received the news from an outside source that the dreaded Iniquum is alive and active as we speak on this very planet!"

The whole crowd went into an uproar, some muttering it as a trick while others were almost in a panic. Feliciano froze in fear, the worst thought crossing his mind, as Ivan and Yong Soo slowly pushed him out of the depth of the crowd as nonchalantly as they could.

"Do you know anything else about the Iniquum, Madre?" One of the men screamed. "Can we kill it?"

"It's still lying in a dormant phase, so I would assume that it is safe to kill it now." She answered.

"Do you know who the Iniquum is?"

"Of course I do." She smiled. "Isn't that right…Feliciano Vargas?"

**/="Coup de Gras" by Tales of Destiny=/**

"N-no…" Feliciano sobbed. "No, that's not _**true!"**_

"Oh. Looks like we're found out, da?"

"We're gonna have to run for it!"

The whole crowd started to roar up as the three of them dashed into the woods as fast as they could. Ivan looked back after a few feet and realized that they were just starting to chase them, and they were just picking up the pace.

"We'll be outrun if we don't do something, da ze!" Yong Soo panicked. "Anyone got any plans?"

"I should be able to make a distraction long enough for most of them to get lost." Ivan answered calmly with a smile. "Yong Soo, return to the guild once I call for it. None of them have seen you, so you should be able to slip back in without any notice. I'll meet you there once they get lost. As for you Feliciano…go back home."

"B-but I…"

"None of them know where you live, and I can easily remove that memory if they did." Ivan answered. "It'll be easy, da?"

"But what if you get hurt?"

"I can fly." He answered. "Now then…let's go!"

Instantly, the formation broke apart. Feliciano dashed deep into the woods back to his house as Ivan led up on the wild goose chase. Soon he found the whole forest to die down into silence, the only sound coming from his running feet and his panicked breath.

_They know now…oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…how did Madre find out what happened between me and Yao? Why would she do this to me?_ He sobbed in his run. _Now everyone knows who I am…what am I going to do? All I wanted to do was-_

He ran into something hard and fell down. In a panic, he quickly flipped up to his feet and tried to run again, only to feel sturdy hands hold him back. He started flailing forward in a panic.

"Feliciano, calm down! What's going on?"

He froze at that voice, stopping and looking up to see that it was Ludwig, just returning to the village. Instantly, his panicked breathing subsided and replaced by a rapid heartbeat. For a split second, he forgot what he was running away from. He just wanted to stay in his arms in the total silence. Was this what love was?

"…_Ludwig…"_

A snapped branch snapped him back into reality, and he dashed as far as he could without even looking back. Ludwig turned around and saw the cloud that he had left behind, shocked that something could spark so much fear in him. He could recall his face instantly: that of someone who was completely alone.

"Feliciano-!"

"Oh, Ludwig! You let him get away!"

"Huh? Madre?" He turned to her as she stepped out of the shadows. "What's going on?"

"Oh? You didn't hear about it?"

**/="Revealed Truth" by Final Fantasy X=/**

Feliciano had to stop, taking long breaths in front of the ocean. He looked up from his position and saw the ocean in its natural position, flowing in and out and unbothered by what was happening on its neighbor's back yard. He recalled that he was found washed up on this sandy beach so long ago by whatever means brought him here.

_If only I didn't survive what threw me onshore…none of this would happen._

_**[This is why I didn't want to do this in the first place…]**_

Feliciano turned around and saw a hazy hallucination of Veneziano hovering just behind him, his head turned away and severely disgusted by what had happened in the past few hours. He felt fresh rage run through his body and he stormed up to him.

"This is all because of you, isn't it!" He found himself screamed. "They're after you, aren't they! Because of your powers and whatever the heck you are, they're going after me!"

_**[Are you demanding something out of me?]**_

"Yes! Just leave me! Get out of my body or whatever the hell you're doing to me right now!"

_**[You know I can't do that. I'm you, remember?]**_

"Then tell me the truth!" He sobbed, dropping to his knees. "Who the hell am I?"

_**[…I am the real you.]**_

"Then…what am I?"

_**[You…were never supposed to exist.]**_

His head darted up to see nothing but cold air and the view of the trees, all covered up by the tears in his eyes. Veneziano's words started to echo in his mind over and over again. It was worse than the crap that he had been told the whole day. This just topped it off with a nice cherry. He held his mind and shivered.

"There you are. We were looking for you."

Feliciano froze and dashed up to his feet, shocked to see Alfred and his group staring back at him. He looked around and saw that he had no place to duck without getting hit. This was the end for him, wasn't it?

"You're…here for me, aren't you…" He said, resigned.

"We've heard about you. That would explain all of the strange things that I have been getting from you, but…" Arthur stepped forward. "After seeing you now in all your confusion…I want to think that someone has got it wrong."

"…I don't know who's wrong now…" He lowered his head. "I'm so confused…what should I do?"

"Find out the truth."

"Francis?" Feliciano looked up.

"We're giving you one day to run as far as you can. We'll only join the growing mob that will leave first thing in the morning tomorrow." Francis stepped forward. "We want you to prove your innocence."

"All that we ask of you is to run…" Antonio's eyes looked sad. "Run…until you find the truth."

"…thank you…all of you…"

Feliciano turned and ran out of the area, not even bothering to look if they were going to follow him or not. He could really care at this point.

**/=+=/**

Some point during his run, he had stopped caring and slowed down to a slow walk. He looked up and saw that it was nighttime and that he had somehow found his house. He hesitated before entering the house, surprised that no one was in the house.

_Lovino must still be at his mission…_ He looked down. _Or maybe he's learning about the truth right now…_

He walked slowly up to his room and collapsed on his bed, looking up at the ceiling above him. He found himself memorizing every single line on it, each and every piece of bamboo _(or was it straw?)_ that made the sturdiest roof that he had ever seen in his life.

"_Your aura…shares massive similarities to the Iniquum."_

He closed his eyes.

"…_the dreaded Iniquum is alive and active as we speak on this very planet!"_

He covered them with his arm.

"_Isn't that right…Feliciano Vargas?"_

He turned his head.

"_You…were never supposed to exist."_

He felt hot tears go down his sleeve and was shaking rapidly.

"_Run…until you find the truth…"_

_What truth would that be?_ Feliciano spat in his head. _I'm a nobody…I'm not supposed to exist. This whole time, while I was running around making friends and trying to find my past…I was just setting myself up for this. This was going to happen no matter what._

He leaned on his side and looked out the window, staring as the last bit of the sun vanished and revealed the stars that took its place. Did every star out there knew what they were supposed to do? What happened to the stars that don't know what they were supposed to do? What did they do with the defective ones?

"_You're in love with him!"_

He found his mind wandering toward the past…back when the days were still innocent. When he was found by Seyel on that beach with nothing more than his name. When Yong Soo created that guild and allowed Feliciano to be its leader. When Lovino entered his life and became his "fratello" _(despite his massive protests)_…the day he first met Ludwig.

_If I'm not supposed to exist…then what are these feelings that I have? The compassion that I have for my friends? My love for Ludwig?_ Feliciano rolled over. _Is that just a ruse as well? Were they not supposed to exist?_

A chill went down his spine as he imagined what would happen when everyone would learn about the truth. Everyone was practically raised on the fear of the coming Iniquum, and he was pretty sure that Yong Soo and Ivan will eventually be swayed by reasoning once they remember that he was a threat. They'll come to his house with torches and pitchforks as if he was some monster…and god forbid that they're being led by Lovino…or _**Ludwig.**_ He could just imagine the hard steel of a knife on his neck…

He darted upward, grabbing his neck and rubbing the smooth skin, then signed.

He couldn't stay here. If he was going to stay here and die, then everything that he had been taught this whole time…about being strong and fending for yourself…would be for nothing. No, he was going to have to run and leave everything behind. All he could do is run.

**/="Reala" by Tales of Destiny 2=/**

He pushed his notebook in his backpack and then fished out some money and some leftover food without completely raiding the fridge. Lovino was going to stay behind, and he didn't want to starve his brother. He turned around and stared at the inside of his house, perhaps for the last time in his life.

He felt so cried out and empty…almost as if he had no feelings left…as if he was going to leave that behind as well.

He slung the bag over his shoulder as he slowly walked out of the kitchen and past the living room before standing in front of the door. He closed his eyes and pushed down on the handle, hearing the familiar click and screech of the hinges. Slowly, he walked out of the door and closed it behind him with a long sigh.

"Took you long enough. I was just about to leave without you."

He froze. Looking up, he could've sworn that he saw Lovino standing in front of him, wearing a similar bag over his shoulder and that familiar sneer on his face. He blinked some more.

"…fratello? What are you doing here?" He rubbed his eyes. "Did you just come home?"

"No, I've been home this entire time dammit. I heard what happened." He answered. "You're just going to up and out?"

"I have to…to find out the truth."

"Well then…I'm coming with you."

He froze. Lovino? Coming with him?

"W-why, Lovino?"

"First of all, we share the same face! Knowing them, they'll kill me in a heartbeat if they think I'm you!"

"Oh…I-I'm sorry…"

"T-that wasn't the real reason…I just thought about it while I was waiting for you…" Lovino turned to him. "The truth is…is that I'm not abandoning you."

"…Lovino…"

"You're my idiot of a brother, god dammit…but you're the only operating family that I got." He answered. "So? All the sappiness is out of the way, can we leave now?"

"Ve~~~~of course!" He wiped a lone tear from his face. "We should start before-"

"_**THERE THEY ARE!**_ Told you they're still here!"

"Yeah, screaming out loud is a **REALLY** good way to keep this a secret you dunce!"

They both looked up to see Yong Soo dashing toward them with Húdié Mei and Yïngguó Shi following right after them. Húdié Mei was holding some form of a box in her hands, confusing Feliciano. Yong Soo tripped, and the other two dashed right in front of him.

"Thank god we caught up to you guys! I thought we missed you!" She turned to Feliciano. "This is for you!"

"W-what is it?" He asked.

"It's some food that I made you guys! I thought that you'd be gone for a while, so I decided to at least help you in a little way."

"T-thank you…"

Feliciano took the box and tucked it in his bag as Yïngguó Shi talked to Lovino. After a few minutes, he heard a grumble and saw as he started to slip on some gloves that seemed to shine a bit of metal on them. Húdié Mei laughed.

"He made them. It's supposed to help on Lovino's punching."

"Oh…"

He heard light footsteps from behind him, and he turned to see that it was Matthew and Seyel as well, tired out of their minds out of running so much. They were muttering something to each other before he realized that Toris, Raivis and Eduard were behind him as well.

"We just made it! Thank goodness…" Seyel sighed.

"_See? We didn't have to worry at all."_ Matthew smiled. _"Nice to see you again."_

"You guys…" Feliciano blinked. "Are you all here for me? Surely you must've…"

"We heard, and we don't care." Eduard stated. "Madre is most definitely lying."

"You are not capable of even thinking about it!" Raivis said. "We all have faith in you."

Feliciano wiped his eyes, most of them spilling with tears at this point. After everything, they still have faith in him. Lovino is willing to go through all this with him for a man who basically made him a brother. Everyone is willing to come here to see him one more time…

"What the heck? We're having a touching moment without the awesome me? You people suck!"

"Blah blah blah. You talk too freakin' loud."

The whole guild looked up to see Elizabeta, Gilbert and Roderich walk toward them, Roderich holding something in his hands. Once Roderich was up in front of the both of them, he lifted his hands and revealed that they were two cross necklaces: one being gold and the other silver.

"What's this?" Lovino picked it up.

"Trackers. As long as you both have them, you'll know where the other one is." Roderich stated. "Ludwig made them."

"L-Ludwig?" Feliciano lit up.

"He couldn't be here, so he asked me to deliver this in his place." He answered.

Feliciano's smile drooped, allowing Elizabeta to pet his back in sympathy. He looked at the silver cross in his hands and realized that it was the same image of the metal cross that was always part of Ludwig's outfit. He lifted it up to his lips and felt a strange warmth from it. He couldn't help but cry at it.

"The sun's just about to rise…" Roderich stated. "You two should be going."

"That's true! You should go! Quickly!" Toris panicked.

"Where should we go first, though?" Lovino rubbed the back of his head.

"May I suggest northward?"

A swish of wind echoed from behind Lovino, causing him to scream and jump backward. Feliciano looked up and saw that Kiku had teleported out of nowhere to meet up with them one more time. He brought Ivan with him, who greeted them with a small _da._

"The paths are extremely rocky and you'll have to cross Mt. Overview, but you might be able to lose most of your pursuers." Kiku answered.

"Northward…" Lovino looked down. "We can go there. Let's go, Feliciano."

"…right." He turned to the others. "Thank you all again…and Yong Soo?"

"Yeah?"

"You're in charge of the guild until I get back. Can you do that?"

"Of course, da ze!"

He smiled as he backed up slowly before turning around and joining his brother on the path towards the future. Towards the truth. Whatever it had in store for him, he can handle it now…for he was no longer afraid.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE.**

**/=[END OF PART I]=/**


	22. The Mother's Story

**/=[BEGINNING OF PART II]=/**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Reminiscences" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

They had been hiking over the mountains for quite some time. Feliciano knew that because as they were running he saw the sun rise over his head when they stopped for their first break. After that first day, Feliciano could feel himself wrung with exhaustion but forced himself forward. Lovino was pushing himself as well, for they didn't rest until late into the second day of running.

"Do you know these roads, Lovino?" Feliciano asked. "You…seem to know them."

"Of course. I would come here every day when I was a child."

"Eh?" He smiled. "Ve~~~does that mean we're close to your hometown?"

"Yeah…it's just over those hills and past the woods." Lovino stated as he pointed at the hill. "But I want to avoid civilization."

"Eh? Why?"

"Idiot. The word about you must've spread over the world like wildfire at this point! Just going into a town might end up killing you!"

"Ve~~~but I just want to see your home town…"

"…we'll just pass by." Lovino sighed. "But we're not staying the night!"

"I can do that." He agreed.

**/="Guldove ~Home~" by Chrono Cross=/**

When Feliciano followed him, he was surprised that the city was smaller than he thought. It looked more like a small village, with booths instead of stores and children running around in day old rags. He immediately regretted coming here, wondering if they stood out like a sore thumb.

While Feliciano was a stranger, Lovino seemed to be greeted like a celebrity. People were running up to him, saying things like "it's been so long" and "welcome back!" and all the like. Feliciano did his best to stay back, trying not to stand into the crowd in case someone might recognize him.

"Lovino? Is that you?"

Through all that noise, he was surprised that someone was talking to him. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with a middle-age woman. She had her light brown hair in two braids and had the most soft and innocent eyes he had ever seen. But that wasn't what caught his attention. What surprised him was that, despite the fact that she was a woman, it was as if he was looking right into a mirror.

"I'm sorry…but Lovino is over there." He said, trying to calm himself down. "M-my name is Feliciano, miss."

"Feliciano…?" Her eyes widened. "Wait…that can't be right…"

"M-miss?"

"Mother, there you are!"

Feliciano turned his head to see Lovino heading toward them, shocked at the fact that she was going toward tears. He threw an evil glare toward him before realizing that the tears were that of confusion and, out of all things, joy?

"Y-you must come to my home, Feliciano…I insist."

"Um…miss, I'm sorry, but…"

"Just for a while, please…"

"…OK…" He turned to Lovino. "But we can't stay for long…"

**/="Mirrors" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

The cottage that she was living in looked similar to Feliciano's home, only without a second floor. As they entered, she slowly walked up toward one of the shelves of the room and started to look for something. Feliciano turned to Lovino, who was getting extremely confused at this point.

"What are you looking for, anyway?" He asked.

"…this."

She pulled out an old album, and by the look on Lovino's face he hadn't seen it before. She sat down on the small couch, allowing the other two boys to sit down around her. She flipped open the book straight in the middle, revealing a small kid in a dress and a laughing father above him.

"H-hey!" Lovino's face was completely red. "I thought dad got rid of that!"

"He couldn't bring himself to. He wanted to keep it." She chuckled. "But…that's not what I wanted to show you."

She started to flip back toward the beginning of the book, slowly so that Feliciano could see Lovino's childhood. The whole time he saw his father, a grown young man that looked like an idiot and was clearly annoying Lovino in about every picture that he was in _(according to his face)_. Suddenly, she was in the front of the book.

"I only have one picture, but this is something I still treasure to this day."

Feliciano and Lovino leaned in to look. It was a picture of Lovino's father and mother holding a baby Lovino in her arms. They looked so happy, cooing at the boy who was chirping in response. That's when they realized it: she was holding TWO babies. And the other one looked almost like a sleeping Feliciano…

"Who's the other baby?" Lovino asked.

"That's supposed to be your younger brother." She answered. "Your father said that he looked exactly like me, so we wanted to name him after me…"

"…what's his name?"

"…we agreed on…Feliciano."

He froze.

"Feliciano…" Lovino's eyes widened. "W-what happened to him?"

Feliciano looked at her with a bit of a light on his eyes. He wanted to know about this boy. Could this be the real him? Was this the truth that he was looking for? Was he really and truly Lovino's brother? If so, why was he abandoned while Lovino grew in the family? Was he abandoned? Maybe he was stolen?

"He was delivered stillborn."

Or that.

"Still…born?" Feliciano gasped.

"They said that he had a heart attack while he was in the womb and that there was nothing we could do to save him." Her eyes drooped. "We buried him at sea…it was a tradition that your father had followed when unborn babies were needed of a burial."

She laughed.

"I'm sorry to have dragged you here just like that, Feliciano." She looked up. "It's just that…you looked so similar to him and yet you share his name as well…I couldn't help but think they are the same. But…my baby can't come back from the dead like that."

"Miss, I…I have to tell you something about myself as well…" Feliciano was beginning to cry at this point. "I…I was found at sea just a few weeks ago. And I knew nothing about myself other than the fact that my name was Feliciano…Feliciano Vargas."

She froze at his full name.

"A-and I have a _Vitula_…a-a mark, in a way…right over my heart. Right here…" He placed a hand on it. "I can feel it beat from time to time, but…"

She was too busy crying as she stared at the man in front of him, spitting out random nonsense that, when added together, made it nothing less of a miracle. Meanwhile Lovino sat there in a state of blank shock, trying his best to grasp the fact that the man that had been clinging onto him like a brother was _**in fact**_ his little brother. Slowly, she lifted up her hand and grazed his cheek.

"You hold your father's eyes…"

They embraced.

**/=+=/**

"So that is the story."

"We can't stay for long…who knows what might happen if they find me here." Feliciano frowned. "Just when I found out I had a past, too…"

"I'll enlighten him on stuff, mom. Don't worry." Lovino grinned. "We'll have to go, but knowing this kid he'll beg me to bring him back."

"I packed a little bit of your favorite in your bag, so don't worry about starving." She smiled. "Take care…Lovino…Feliciano. Come back soon."

"…we'll see you…mother."

Feliciano didn't know why, but he was crying when he said that word. He hugged her one more time _(long and tight)_ before hesitantly parting and turning back to join his brother on the road.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE.**


	23. Heading Into Mt Overview

**I forgot to mention this during the last chapter, but I always imagined Lovino and Feliciano's mother to be Nyotalia Italy **_**(whichever one you prefer)**_**. Her name is Felicia, just so you know.**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Grand Fonic Hymn (Music Box Version)" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

They started to hike through the mountains, trying their best not to look back toward home. The whole time, Feliciano was skipping and humming lullabies off the top of his head. After a few minutes, Lovino heard them and froze in place, panicking Feliciano.

"W-what?"

"That lullaby…" Lovino blinked. "Where did you hear that before?"

"Huh? Um…I just remember hearing it before, that's all." He answered. "

"Mother used to sing that to me when I was young." Lovino rubbed the bottom of his eyes. "Before we left, she said that she sang it to you before they sent you to sea."

"…I must've heard her then…" He smiled. "I'm so happy just to hear about her…I miss her already."

"We'll see her again, don't worry." Lovino stated. "Once we clear your name."

"…thank you."

Feliciano huddled closer toward Lovino with an innocent look on his face _(much to Lovino's displeasure)_, but after trying to pull away, Lovino gave up and walked ahead, allowing Feliciano to dangle there. Suddenly, they heard a loud roar in front of them.

**/="Must Eliminate…" by Fragile Dreams=/**

"Is that…?"

"Mt. Overview. It's a dormant volcano and one of the four that are positioned on the edges of the world." Lovino stated. "There're four of them in total in each of the directions of the continent."

"Oh, I see…" Feliciano looked up. "Ve~~~I don't want to go in there…"

"_**There they are!"**_

"_**Get them!"**_

They both darted their heads around and saw shadowy figures of mob men with weapons charging toward them. They both turned to each other in a panic before dashing into the volcano without a second thought. During the quick dash, Feliciano's head was going into a thick state of panic.

_How could they know where we're going so quickly? Did they follow us? Maybe someone snitched on us?_ Feliciano's eyes closed. _No, none of them would ever betray us like that…_

_**[You should be asking more important questions, Feliciano.]**_

_Like what?_

_**[Ask how much longer you can run without feeling betrayed.]**_

_**[Ask how much more you can take before unleashing your rage on those who wronged you.]**_

_**[And ask yourself how much longer until you realize that it is the beginning of the end…]**_

Feliciano had no idea what he was saying or what he meant. He didn't even know if Veneziano said anything, too busy running through all the nooks and crannies of the volcano/temple(?) to hide from the hunters. Oddly enough, Lovino was using his ability and he was still lagging behind. Before they knew it, they heard a roar.

"Are those monsters?" Feliciano looked up. "Gah!"

"Watch the claws!" Lovino ordered. "I heard that they can set people on fire just be touching them!"

Feliciano jumped over the golem and quickly pulled out a mermaid from his notebook. The water quickly sizzled away most of the fire, but the golem came back strong. Lovino took this as an opportunity and spun a crescent in the ground, which spiraled a huge wave of air that sliced it in half.

"Ve~~~you're so cool, fratello!"

"I know." He grinned, taking pride for once. "But let's not think about it too much. We have to keep going!"

Feliciano nodded before they ran as fast as they could through the caverns, dodging and fighting all of the monsters that stood in the way. He didn't know why, but his lungs were burning at this point. He needed to get out of here as soon as he could…

**/="Gyakuten" by Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright **_**(I do not make this up)**_**=/**

They found themselves at the other side of the volcano, surrounded by lava pools and a solid thick road. Feliciano sighed in relief, grateful that he didn't have to stay in that hot volcano for any longer. Lovino, on the other hand, just seemed downright relieved.

"Well, we got through there!" He grinned. "Those caverns were a total hell, so I think we lost all of them!"

"Do you really think so?" Feliciano asked.

"Of course we did! Most of them probably saw the volcano and thought it was insane to get through-"

A chill ran down Feliciano's spine as he saw a shadow move behind Lovino. Instinct kicked in, and he pushed Lovino out of the way. A split second later, a shine flickered in front of them and a huge slash opened his chest. Lovino froze as his brother flew in the air and tumbled a few feet away. He turned his head and saw a woman standing with a huge spear. She had short silver hair and was extremely _**gifted**_, to say the least.

"I recognize you! You're that Iniquum guy that they were talking about!" She said. "Don't tell me that you're starting to destroy the world now!"

"You're fucking insane, woman!" Lovino stood up and jumped between them. "He's not the damn Iniquum; he's falsely accused and now on the run! Why can't anyone get it in their fuckin' heads?"

"Lovino, please…don't."

They both turned around and saw Feliciano slowly stand to his feet, his hand holding the huge slash in his chest and his _Vitula_ throbbing into view. The image startled the woman, and Lovino was quick to run to his side as Feliciano fell into his arms.

"You can't…get between her." He tried to stand again. "She's right…I can't…"

"Don't tell me that you're giving up now! After running this far, you're stopping?" Lovino shoved him to his feet. "You're insane! You have to keep running!"

Feliciano looked up to his brother, an extremely serious look on his face, and then knew that he was serious. He smiled weakly as he stood up, knowing what he had to do. He slowly backed up, holding his hand on his bag, and then fell into one of the lava pits. No one had the time to scream when a huge geyser of lava shot straight up, revealing a warrior angel clad in red armor and armed with a spear.

"Eh?" Lovino jumped. "Why are you a **WOMAN?"**

"_**I can't help it, fratello…that's just how I drew her…"**_ She landed in front of the woman. _**"I don't wish to hurt you. If you can just let us go…"**_

"I can't! I love my planet, and you're going to destroy it!" She lifted up her spear. "I have to do this…to protect my brother!"

"_**Your brother…"**_ She blinked. _**"Wait…is your brother named…Ivan?"**_

"Huh?" She froze. "You know him?"

"Are you _**serious?"**_ Lovino darted his head around. "You're related to that creep tall guy with the odd laugh? Holy crap!"

"You know my brother, don't you!" She gasped. "Where is he? Is he all right?"

"_**He's all right. He's living back in Pinagmulan **__**[1]**__**, where we came from."**_ She turned back into Feliciano, the wound healed for the most part. "He…helped me escape."

"He helped you escape…" She looked confused. "He thinks you're innocent?"

"…Yes." He answered, rubbing the semi-covered wound on his chest. "He did."

"…my goodness. Now that I look at you, you don't look like you could hurt anyone…" She rubbed the wound on his chest. "You almost look like a young child…with extremely good healing abilities…"

"Most of the wounds are healed, so I should be fine…" Feliciano smiled. "Now that you believe me, we have to go. We can't stay here."

"We're fine, Feliciano! Those guys won't be following us through that volcano!" Lovino beamed.

"…there's still Alfred." He said. "He'll follow us through anything."

Lovino paused, completely forgetting about them. They both turned toward the girl, who nodded in understanding and slowly moved out of the way. They walked forward for a few minutes before realizing that she really was making no move to stop them.

"My name is Irunya, by the way." She smiled. "Thank you for telling me where my brother is. I have been looking for him this whole time."

"Of course." Feliciano answered.

"Oh, before I go, I must tell you something. If you find a girl named Natalya, please tell her what you told me. She has been looking for Ivan as well, and she'll be most delighted to hear this."

"Of course." Lovino stated, his respect coming back.

Irunya nodded before she headed into the volcano, a strange bouncing sound echoing from her. They stared at each other for a few awkward seconds before they continued on the road. As they were walking, Feliciano noticed that he was getting extremely tired and his eyes were fogging up.

_What's…going on?_

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[TRANSLATOR]=/**

**[1]**** Pinagmulan [**FILIPINO**] -**_**Origin**_

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**I finally name the city that we've had the whole story in. Don't I fail at life.**


	24. The Gold and Silver Crosses

**Feliciano is still on the run, and he's trying to find out the truth. But what's happening to him now? Is he getting tired?**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Aramis Springs" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

"Hey, how are you handling up back there?"

"Just…fine…" Feliciano shook his head. _"I'm OK."_

Lovino didn't look convinced, but he nonetheless allowed him to continue walking. His head was starting to fog up and he was shivering rapidly. He wanted nothing more than to sit down and fall asleep, but the thought of those people that might've passed the volcano was the only thing that was pushing him forward.

"You don't look so good." Lovino walked to him. "Are you seriously OK?"

"_I'm fine…really…"_ He shivered, his hand over his stomach. _"Just…cold."_

"That's true…it's getting colder around here. We must be going through the snowy regions." He looked up. "It's starting to snow."

"_I…can see that…"_ Feliciano stood up. _"We have to…keep going."_

"Are you sure that you're going to be all right?" Lovino looked at him. "We'll have to stay the night somewhere."

"_No…n-no, we…we have to keep going…"_ Feliciano started walking forward. _"As…far as we can."_

"You are fucking insane." Lovino ran to his side. "At least get a blanket to cover yourself with!"

Feliciano stumbled in the bag but finally was able to get the cape in his bag and wrapped it quietly around his shoulders. He looked at Lovino with a reassuring smile before pressing on through the forest. As they walked further and further on, the snow was getting thicker and thicker on the trees, up to the point where the night sky was shining a brilliant dark blue.

"It's getting really cold…" Lovino turned to Feliciano. "We'll have to stop for the night…"

"…_OK…"_ Feliciano looked around. _"Where though…?"_

"There're cliffs around here. We might be able to find a cave or two to hide into."

"…_that makes sense…"_

They wandered deeper and deeper into the forest, hearing nothing but the whooshing of the wind and the falling snow. Lovino kept himself toward Feliciano when he realized something weird: Feliciano felt a lot warmer than usual. He looked at him in confusion, and realized that his face was getting redder.

"You're sick…"

"…_no, I'm not…"_

"Don't lie to me, dammit. You're sick. We have to hide somewhere." Lovino looked around. "Now then…where can we-?"

There was a shift in the floor, before they realized that they were walking right next to a cliff and that the ground had shifted. Lovino looked at Feliciano and realized that he was standing on the dropping rock. He reached out to grab him when he felt his hands slip.

"_**FRATELLO!"**_

He couldn't even hear him scream; Feliciano's voice was drained away by the snowfall. Lovino was about to jump after him when he felt a pair of hands pull him back. Lovino tried to struggle when he saw that five pairs of kunai were right in the location where he was standing.

"_Damn…I missed him…"_

"Hey, where the hell are you!" Lovino stepped forward. "Get the hell back here!"

He turned his head toward the person that saved him and saw that it was a strange young man with a dark blue sailor suit and a sailor cap, around Lovino's height. He was adjusting the gloves on his hand and Lovino couldn't help but notice that he was lightly dressed, nothing like the thick blanket that he had.

"…we have to get my brother." He spat.

"The climb down is dangerous in this weather." The man said simply. "We can't go down now."

"But we can't just abandon him down there! He's extremely sick and he can't defend himself-"

"Who said that we're not helping him?"

Lovino looked at him in confusion when he saw his hand reaching out to someone as if he was holding someone's chin. However, he didn't see anything there. Suddenly his hand went up as if he was flying, and a whole wave of air shot up around him, almost knocking Lovino off his feet.

"What the hell was that?" He spat.

"My troll. He'll fetch Feliciano and bring him back to us." He turned to Lovino. "You…have a tracker on him?"

"Eh? Oh damn, of course I do!" He lifted up his golden cross necklace. "It'll only work if Feliciano has his, though…"

"Even better." He turned away. "Let's go."

**/=[Some Angsty silence here for you. Imagine snow falling in the wind, if you must :D]=/**

_Lovino…_

Feliciano was on the snow-covered ground, the blanket being the only thing that was covering the cold snow from his feverish body. His eyes were screwed closed, his body twitching and writhing in pain from hitting the floor after falling from a high cliff. He could feel his silver necklace sliding in his chest, a good indication that Lovino will be able to find him.

_I…I have to find…fratello…_ He tried to push into a sitting position. _Ah…it hurts…I…can't…move…_

His energy was quickly leaving him, leaving him helpless and unable to move. Yet he forced himself to move as much as he could, only succeeding in rolling onto his side before slowly losing consciousness. He started shivering rapidly, sucking up the rest of the energy that he had. He looked up with tired eyes and saw the shadow of a figure hovering over him.

"_No…n-no…please…don't…"_ He sobbed, trying desperately to crawl away. _"I don't…want to die…don't…"_

He tried to move, but only succeeded in twitching his finger. The fever was taking over, and he was crying and sobbing for his life. As he was slowly passing out, his mind started calling out to everyone: his guild, his friends, his brother, his mother…

"_Mother…"_ He sobbed as his eyes closed. _"Ludwig…"_

His head drooped and he limped. The figure stared at him for a few minutes before sliding the blanket off of him and tying it around his neck. He picked up Feliciano's body and headed deeper into the woods, vanishing into the depths of the snow.

**/=+=/**

"Hey, hold up a minute!" Lovino spat. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"…Lukas. Lukas Bondevik [1]."

"OK, Lukas. Where the hell are we going?"

"We're heading toward our home base." He answered. "My troll will meet us there with your brother."

"It better be. That's my brother we're talking about…"

Lukas stared at him with a blank look on his face when his attention was caught. Lovino stared at him as Lukas reached out his hand and kept it close to himself, as if it was holding a small person. He was talking softly to it before his hand dropped and he turned to Lovino.

"Someone got to him first."

"_**WHAT?**_ Someone has Feliciano?" Lovino screamed. "What the hell are we doing here? We should go after him!"

"My troll is following him as we speak. I'll be able to find him in a heartbeat." Lukas answered.

"That might not happen, jackass! For all we know, this guy could completely be this magical nutjob and destroy your troll thing and my brother while we're at it!"

"He does not hold much spiritual potential, despite his _Vitula."_ He stated. "According to my messenger, he's a blond man…quite muscular with blue eyes. He held no malice toward your brother."

Wait a minute…

"_**What the hell is **__**POTATO BASTARD**__** doing here?"**_

**/="Ilia" from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess=/**

It took him a long time to find it, but after a while Ludwig was able to find a cave safe from the snowstorm. He quickly lit up a fire and kept Feliciano as close to the fire and as warm as he could _(good thing he brought a few blankets along the way)_. After that, he sat next to his figure and watched the fire burn.

"The cross is still here…Lovino must still be OK." He looked out into the snowstorm. "Hopefully, he found a way to ride out the storm…"

"…_Lovino…"_

He turned his head and saw Feliciano's eyelids twitching as much as he could, trying his best to get himself out of consciousness. Ludwig slowly leaned toward him and placed a firm hand on one of his cheeks, feeling his eyelids twitching as much as it could.

"Feliciano, it's OK…you must rest."

"…_Lovino…I…I have to…find him…"_

"Just keep sleeping…it's all going to be OK."

His eyelids continued to twitch before it slowed down, his head resting in his hand. Ludwig smiled, still feeling the surreal warmth under his fingers. He looked up and saw that he was still shivering from the cold. The blankets were not keeping him warm. There was only one other solution…be it a little embarrassing…

_I hope he doesn't mind…_ And he didn't mean Feliciano.

He slowly lifted Feliciano into a sitting position and cuddled him close to his body, leaning on the cavern wall and covering the both of them with the two blankets. Feliciano was still shivering, but Ludwig noticed that he was clinging onto his shirt and leaning on his shoulder. Ludwig lifted his hand to Feliciano's face and he slowed his shiver, looking peacefully asleep.

_He stopped…but the fever is still here._

Ludwig looked at the young man that was in his hand, and couldn't help but notice that he looked so young in his fingertips. He didn't look like a young man, he looked more like a child: young, flawless, innocent, fragile, scared about the world around him…on the run…

He held him closer, feeling each and every shiver that he emitted from his body, accepting them all and keeping him as warm as he can. Every now and then he could hear him whisper words into his ear, words that he couldn't catch. Before he fell asleep, he caught one of them.

"_Ludwig…"_

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[CHARACTERS]=/**

**[1]****Lukas Bondevik** is Norway. It's one of the possibly names that Himayura had given him, but it was the only name that didn't have symbols that I didn't want to type in.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Two updated chapters for celebration!**


	25. How He Couldn't Leave Him

**So how did you like the two chapters before? Hope you like them, cause this story gets a whole lot…weirder, I think?**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="To Zanarkand (Music Box Version)" by Final Fantasy X=/**

Feliciano felt nothing but warmth all over his body. He couldn't help but panic at first, wondering if he was dead and if this was the afterlife where all you could feel was warmth. After a few minutes, he felt a warm hand on his cheek. He twitched his own fingers, and realized that it wasn't his hands. Someone was with him.

_A…guardian angel…?_ He paused. _Veneziano…?_

All his nerves tingled, telling him exactly what was going on around him. He was in a sitting position, cuddled together in a ball as if he was a young child on someone's lap. As he took control of his fingertips, he could feel warm cotton on his palm and his head was leaning on something hard…a shoulder?

"_Feliciano…"_

Someone was calling him…he sounded like an angel. His eyes twitched and opened slowly, the image blurry and hard to see. The first thing he saw was the blond hair, a common trait for angels _(at least, what he believed was common)_. Then he saw a shine of blue and green, combining together to form that of a face. It was a familiar face…one all too familiar.

"…_L-Ludwig?"_

"_You're awake…and the fever's going down…"_

Feliciano felt Ludwig's hand rub his cheek, and all the air just zoomed out of his body. His eyes widened, his cheeks flushing red and his fingers twitching over Ludwig's shirt. The blush alarmed the blond man, who lowered his hand onto his neck for a temperature. Feliciano could only shiver and expose his neck to him, ragged breaths coming out of his mouth.

"Nothing…you're still all right…" Ludwig concluded.

"_Ludwig…"_ Feliciano shivered again, keeping his head on Ludwig's shoulder. _"W-why are you here…? I thought you were home…safe…"_

"_I couldn't just leave you and Lovino alone. I wanted to see you off, but Madre kept me back. She was telling me how much of a danger that you are and that since we were created to fight the Iniquum, I should be the one to kill you…"_ His fingers were trailing his neck, still seeing if there was any change in temperature.

"_Ah…is that why you're here…?"_ He whispered, the touch completely subduing him as if he was pulling his curl. _"To kill me…?"_

"_No…I couldn't bring myself to do that. Not to you."_ Ludwig answered, his eyes narrowed. _"I followed the mob toward your location…they seemed to know where you are the whole time. Most of them gave up after Mt. Overview, but I knew that you would be able to get through. I followed your footsteps into the woods, and then I heard you fall down the cliff…and…"_

"…_Ludwig…"_

Feliciano kept shivering, unable to respond any other way. He felt like melting in his touch, just staying here for the rest of his life. Through his muttering and shivering, he thought he saw Ludwig leaning in closer to him. _W-was he going to…?_

Ludwig paused, noticing that he was still shivering. After all that, he finally got why: his fingers were _**(SOMEHOW)**_ actually mixed in with his curl. He blushed and muttered an apology as he slowly pulled his fingers out of it. Instantly, his shivering stopped.

"…eh?" Feliciano blinked, confused. "W-what happened?"

"My fingers…they got caught in your curl…"

"O-oh…I didn't notice."

Odd enough, he actually didn't. The pulling didn't hurt him as much as what happened last time. Maybe it was because Ludwig was doing it gently, without hurting him with sudden jerks. He blushed and tried to cover his face when he suddenly coughed rapidly and jerked forward. Ludwig jumped in shock and moved out of the way to hold Feliciano's shoulders as his coughing got worse and worse. His hands lowered, and revealed something terrifying.

"…_blood…"_

**/="Haritsumeta Kuki" by Shaman King=/**

Feliciano looked at the blood and started to shiver in fear. Tears were forming from his eyes, showing his fear. Suddenly, his gaze shifted toward another figure. Ludwig turned around and caught another man at the entrance of the cave. He was blond with glasses, and had a strange blue hat and uniform. Feliciano hid behind Ludwig, holding onto his arm.

"_I-It's Alfred…"_ He sobbed. _"I don't want to die…"_

Ludwig held him close, stones slowly moving around him. After a few minutes of nothing but staring the man turned toward the scared Feliciano, who was trying desperately to hide behind Ludwig's arm. He then cocked his head over his right shoulder.

"I found him."

Ludwig looked up in confusion as another figure ran into the cave. He blinked and realized it was Lovino, who looked _pretty_ mad at his presence right now. Feliciano looked up and saw his brother, smiling and trying to stand before coughing up more blood and started gasping for air.

"Fratello!" He glared at Ludwig. "Dammit, potato bastard! What the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" He answered. "He just started a few seconds ago!"

"Tino." The tall man called out. "We need you."

Instantly, a smaller man with silver blond hair and a light blue uniform ran into the cave. He gestured Lovino to get out of the way and looked at his brother as he shivered, coughing up more blood. He held his cheeks for a few seconds and then got Feliciano to look at him.

"Where were you cut?"

Feliciano blinked in confusion before he slowly lifted his shirt, revealing the scar that was there. Everyone gasped: the scar was turning an odd shade of purple. Feliciano gagged again, and started coughing up more blood. The young man caught him.

"It's anthermine poisoning." He concluded. "Looks fresh…"

"Irunya." Lovino concluded. "It was her."

"You've met Irunya Braginski?" The young man gasped. "That's not good. She's an expert with botanical poisons…we have to do this quickly. Feliciano, right? I'm going to need you to lie down."

He quickly complied, suddenly feeling how rigid his body was becoming. The young man kept his head down as he brought out a small pocket knife and slowly nicked him twice in the stomach, around the wound. He clapped his hands together, _Vitula_ symbols completely surrounding his hands and fingers, and then placed them on the cuts.

"This is going to hurt a little bit, so bear with it."

Feliciano slowly nodded as the young man's hands started glowing. Suddenly he cringed as the young man started pushing one of his hands in his stomach. His other hand started to move away from it, and they saw a strange purple liquid come out of the cut. After a few minutes, one of his hands stopped glowing while the other one held the liquid.

"Done." He smiled. "You should be grateful. Most of the poison didn't get absorbed into your body."

He slowly sat up into a sitting position, holding his stomach but still pushing himself up. The young man held him in place, slowing his pace and locked eye contact with him. He couldn't help but notice his shining purple eyes looking back at him.

"There's still some traces of it, though. Don't push yourself."

"…thank you…" Feliciano answered. "For me…and for taking care of my brother…"

"Of course. Anyone who gets lost in the woods deserve our care." He smiled. "My name is Tino Väinämöinen, and my friend here is Berwald Oxenstierna. But you can call him Berwald for short."

He just nodded a small hello back at them. Lovino quickly got his brother and pulled him to his feet, much to his surprise, and saw how much he was stumbling on himself. It looked kinda funny, but nonetheless Lovino didn't like it one bit.

"My god, just walk forward!"

"I'm…trying!"

"Anthermine poisoning does have some muscle paralysis." Tino explained. "It's temporary, so don't worry about it. Anyway, you two must be hungry. You should come back with us to our home. Lukas is making some good breakfast, and you need that energy for wherever you're going."

"Ve~~~thank you!" Feliciano exclaimed, still stumbling on himself. "Um…but how do I get there if I can't walk?"

"Can someone carry you?" Tino asked.

Lovino instantly tried it out _(for what reasons, no one can figure out)_ and failed. Again. And again. Until it just got funny. After he went in for a break, Ludwig quickly got in and lifted Feliciano off the ground like he was a light weight. Lovino cursed a little bit.

"I'll carry him."

Of course, Feliciano was too shocked to reply. Nonetheless, they walked out of the cave.

**/="Garden" by Pandora Hearts=/**

The "home" that Tino was talking about turned out to be another cave, which turned out to be a set of caves. Feliciano just stared ahead as Ludwig followed Berwald and Tino into their home cavern. There were three people there, one that Lovino called "Lukas". One of the men had a black trench coat and a strange hat on his head, the other one had silver hair and purple eyes. For some reason, his eyes reminded him of Matthew.

"This your brother?" The trench coat man asked. "Whoa, he looks just like you!"

"Shut up, Magus [1]." Lovino spat back.

"Haha! He's just jealous that he couldn't protect his brother!"

"_**Shut up, Magnus…"**_

Magnus laughed as Ludwig carried Feliciano to a small bench next to the silver-haired man. He quickly straightened himself in his presence, fixing his jacket and his tie before sighing and giving up at that point. He was still being a little stiff from the poison.

"My name is Emil, by the way. Emil Steilsson [2]." The silver-haired man stated. "Feliciano, am I correct?"

"…yes, that's my name." He answered.

"I see…" He stood up. "Goodness me, I'm…getting tired already."

"Tired? Isn't it the morning?"

Magnus and Tino stared at him, but it didn't look like it was out of concern. Emil only nodded, patted Feliciano on the shoulder, and then headed toward one of the tents Lovino and Ludwig stared at each other with a look that seemed to say "what was that for?"

"Don't worry about him." Magnus waved his hand. "He gets tired easily and likes to sleep."

"Ve~~~that's interesting…" Feliciano blinked. "What's wrong with him?"

"I think it's hypersomnia [3]." Tino explained. "I've been trying to treat it, but it's a little hard at my level…"

"That sucks. You can save Feliciano but not him?" Lovino spat.

"I-I'm still trying!" Tino said, flustered.

"Fratello…" Feliciano leaned forward. "Don't be mean…"

Ludwig paused for a minute before looking at Feliciano for half a second. After a few minutes, he leaned forward and glared at everyone in the room. None of them made a move to say anything else, though Lovino had no idea what's going on.

"You actually got me there for a second." He stated. "I actually thought that everything was perfectly fine."

"What are you talking about, potato bastard?" Lovino spat.

"Well then…" He turned to Feliciano. "Care to explain it to him?"

Everyone stared at Feliciano with a panicked look on their faces. After a few seconds of silence, Feliciano smiled and leaned back. He blinked once, and his yellow eyes were replaced by shining purple ones. Of course, Lovino panicked a bit.

"You're not bad. And I wasn't even using my full power." He stated. "You must be a seasoned warrior."

"What did you do to Feliciano?"

"He's fine. In fact, listening to us as we speak." He tapped the back of his head. "He seemed pretty willing, so I figured I might as well let him listen in."

"OK, I'm confused!" Lovino sighed. "Who the hell are you?"

"It's Emil, by the way." Feliciano(?) stated. "It's my power."

"Why would you do that?"

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[CHARACTERS]=/**

**[1]****Magnus Densen** is Denmark. Yes, this is another possible name that Himayura has given him. For those of you who read my Tales fanfic, you'll see how attached I am to the name "Magnus".

**[2]****Emil Steilsson** is Iceland. Again, this is a possible name given by Himayura and all of my Tales followers will know my attachment to the name "Emil".

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[TINO]-** _Healing abilities._ Vitula: Palms of hands

**[EMIL]- **_Body possession. He can do complete possession or semi-possession (a state at which he allows the man he possesses to observe and interfere with actions), and can only do it once he learns of someone's name_. Vitula: Ears

**/=[NOTES]=/**

**[3]****Hypersomnia** is the opposite of insomnia, affected when you sleep during the day and yet feel like they still haven't gotten enough sleep. It's a medical condition and usually is treated with months of therapy at a sleep clinic.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**I finally got the Nordics in. See? I promised and it came true! Don't worry, the whole cliff hanger thing is going to be solved by the next chapter.**


	26. The Depths of Hidden Wants

**Don't you feel happy about the last chapter? Love them cliff hangers, don't ya? Well, sorry but I'm going to have to drop you. MORE PLOT!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Lion, Fate Repeated" by Tales of Destiny=/**

"Why the hell would you do that?" Lovino asked him again.

"Just to be safe. People don't usually come here without something to do." Emil said through Feliciano's body. "And I'm glad I did. Otherwise I would never learn about the Iniquum."

They both froze at the mention of that word. Meanwhile, the others stared at him like he just mentioned Armageddon was going to occur right at this very moment. Well it was a little bit true, but at least they were going to discreetly tell them…I guess.

"The Iniquum?" Magnus shot to his feet. "What are you talking about? That thing's long since dead!"

Emil looked at Feliciano's two companions, shocked looks on their faces, and then closed his eyes to probe his mind. Ludwig couldn't help but panic at this point, a twitching hand close to his belt and whip in case he was going to have to grab him and make a run for it.

"It's still alive…" Emil turned his eyes toward Ludwig. "And they're looking for it."

He paused in confusion.

"This woman was preaching about the return of the Iniquum, and Feliciano vowed to stop him." Emil lied _(well, he assumed he was lying)_. "Lovino wouldn't let him go alone, and Ludwig followed him after."

Lovino looked at Ludwig with a look that said _"Ok, what just happened?"_, to which the other shrugged. Fortunately no one else noticed it _(or were too dumb or shallow to state anything)_ and quickly believed what Emil had told them. He closed his eyes, and then flickered them open to reveal a shining gold.

"…Feliciano?" Ludwig leaned forward.

"Eh? Emil?" He hit his head a few times. "W-where'd he go?"

"I'm right here. Don't worry about me."

They all looked up to see that Emil was coming out of the tent that he had retreated into, rubbing the back of his head as if he had just gotten out of a headache. He looked toward Magnus, who was now cracking his knuckles and had a weird look on his face.

"So the Iniquum is back…and they're going to fight it?" He asked.

"Yes." He gave a glance to Feliciano. "Actually…he was planning on fighting it alone."

"**WHAT?** Fight that thing alone? Not if I can help it!" He pointed to Berwald. "Berwald! Tino! Fetch our supplies! We're going on a hunt!"

"You're getting loud again…"

"I'm _**NOT**_ getting loud, Lukas! Now let's **GO!"** He turned to Lovino. "Hey, maybe you can help us!"

"What the hell do you want me to do, bastard?"

He didn't get a chance to argue: Magnus had grabbed his collar and shoved him deeper into the caverns despite his protests. Once they were alone for a period of about five seconds, Emil sat down a good distance away from Feliciano, straightening his jacket.

"I know the truth, you two. About Feliciano being the Iniquum…" He said simply.

"Then…why didn't you tell them?" Feliciano asked, not even sounding scared anymore.

"Because of the woman who called you that. Madre, is it?" Emil nodded. "She…I don't know how to say it, but…there's just something…not right about her."

"She's been so kind to me those past weeks, but was really close to Ludwig." Feliciano stated. "I don't know what would make her change that much…"

"Anyway, it doesn't really matter. You're being hunted down by those who would rather you find the truth. If you don't find the truth, you can't go home." Emil nodded. "That's all that matters. And I'm willing to help you find that, even to the point of lying to them."

"Your closest friends?" Ludwig was confused.

"I've probed many minds and learned many secrets, most of which I have kept from even them." Emil said. "I don't mind one more…though I wish to ask Feliciano one thing."

"Yes?"

"If it turns out that you are the Iniquum as this woman says…what will you do?"

Feliciano paused, much to Ludwig's displeasure. He quickly slid closer to him, allowing the smaller man to feel his warmth on his arm. That presence alone allowed Feliciano to smile, and he lifted his head up to reveal that sad smile on his face.

"Then…I won't mind losing my life…"

"Feliciano!" Ludwig grabbed him. "Don't say that!"

_And…if I'm going to die…I want it to be by Ludwig's hands…_

He knew he was thinking that when Emil was in his mind, but that thought alone made the silver-haired boy shiver at the words. Suddenly, they heard another scuffle and Lovino storming out of the caverns with what looked like armor on his legs. Magus was quickly following him.

"What do you think? Isn't it _**swell?"**_

"_**GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME, YOU BASTARD!"**_ He turned to Feliciano. "Let's go! I'm not staying here any freakin' longer!"

**/="Theme- Sister Thea Marie Yandere Instantaneous Pressure" by RomaHeta=/**

Lovino stormed out of there faster than anyone could even object to, making Feliciano following him all the harder. It was only the girly scream that caught his attention. Once he finally found him, he realized that there was a woman hovering just a few feet over his head. She had silver hair and had a blue maid's outfit on.

"You have the aura of my brother…" She glared. "You know where he went, don't you?"

"Who the hell is this crazy bitch?" Lovino spat.

A huge wave of energy erupted out of nowhere, tossing Lovino down onto the ground and almost landing on a blade. Feliciano looked up to the girl in shock before seeing that she was levitating in the air…almost like she was related to…

"You're talking about Ivan…aren't you?"

"So you know who I'm talking about? Good." She lifted up her blade. "Now will you be so kind as to tell me why you have his wavelength."

"His…what?"

She zoomed extremely close to him, only to see that a huge wall of ice shot up in front of them. Feliciano turned his head and saw that Berwald had his hands on the ground, his right arm glowing all the way up to his shoulder. Magnus ran out of the cavern with his huge axe at his side.

"Hey, it's that girl that keeps attacking us!" He grinned. "Are you still convinced that Emil's this brother of yours?"

"He shares the same wavelength as he does…" She glared.

That's when Feliciano noticed something. As she zoomed around them and continued her assault, he couldn't help but get a close look at her face: her smooth skin, her silver hair, her dead eyes…her extremely dull colored pupils…

_She's blind…she can't tell the difference… _He closed his eyes and recalled what Irunya had told him. "Natalya. Ivan isn't here."

She froze, a blade to Lukas' neck.

**/= "Rutee ~Tender Affection~" by Tales of Destiny 2=/**

"He's back in my hometown of Pinagmulan. He helped me a lot, and I owe a lot to him." Feliciano stated, a smile on his face. "If you're anything like your brother, you can read my mind and know I'm telling the truth. Use me to find your way there…"

"You better not be lying to me…"

"I'll let you figure that out."

She glared at him for a few minutes before a symbol started glowing on her forehead and she closed her eyes. Instantly, Feliciano felt a strange vibration in his head as if someone was probing in it. He immediately thought of home with his friends, and his few memories of Ivan, just to let her out sooner. After a few minutes, she pulled out his mind.

"That's my brother…so you're telling the truth." She blinked at him. "You…"

"Go to your brother. Your sister will be there as well."

"That whore?" She spat. "I'm not leaving her alone with him…"

She instantly vanished out of nowhere, leaving everyone there with a look of confusion on their faces. Lovino stood up and instantly started dusting off the snow from his jacket with a sigh and a shake of his head.

"_Crazy bitch…"_ He grumbled. "The fuck was her problem?"

"She's going to Ivan now. We're going to be fine." Feliciano smiled.

"Geez, if I knew that you're going to save our asses from her, I would've found you sooner!" Magnus chuckled, leaning on his axe. "Now that she's out of the way, what's the direction that we're heading?"

"Eh?"

"You said that you're looking for the Iniquum. Where are you going?"

Feliciano paused for a minute. He actually didn't have a clue where he was going to look. Where can he even start? He can't just go north and freeze all of them. Besides, he was getting cold as well. He can't just get a break when it comes to answers, can he?

_**[It's the beginning of the end.]**_

**/=[Silence is golden here!]=/**

_Veneziano…_

_**[Do you see the sun in front of you?]**_

_Ah!_ He turned to it. _I see it!_

_**[That will mark the end of your adventure.]**_

_The end of my…adventure…_ He smiled. "That's where…I can find the truth…"

"Feliciano?" Ludwig walked to him.

"We go there…towards the shining sun." Feliciano pointed to it. "That is where we will find the answer."

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[BERWALD]-** _Ice manipulation._ Vitula: Right arm

**[NATALYA]-**_ Telekinetic powers, like Ivan._ Vitula: Forehead

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**Yeah, short trip. I'm not lying, the answers are going to be in the next chapter or two. Hope you guys are patient enough not to stalk me and probe my mind- LOVINO I'M TALKING TO YOU!**

**Lovino-**Damn…


	27. The Ultimate Truth

**So all the answers **_**(well, most of them)**_** will undoubtfully be answered here. For those of you who have played ****Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon**_**(mainly the Red and Blue games)**_**, thank you for not spoiling the plot up until this point and thank you for not throwing me flames of how unoriginal this is! I promise you that the plot is going to be completely different once this chapter is done, so bear with me!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Kanonno's Despair" by Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2=/**

_Everything is going to be answered soon…right here in this very woods…_

Feliciano could hardly contain his joy as he walked slowly toward the sunlight. He was finally going to figure out everything! All the questions he had were going to be answered! At last he can go home and sleep on a bed after weeks of travelling…

But what if he was the Iniquum?

That question stuck in his mind, slowing his walk but not stopping it. No matter what, he wants the answers, good or bad. And if he really was the Iniquum, then it was OK. At least he knew that his death was going to benefit everyone. He learned that he had a past. He gained close friends. He had a brother to lean on _(somewhat)_. He fell in love, _**hard**_.

_Yes…everything is going to work out._ He smiled, his pace quickening up. _This is where it's all going to end._

How in the world was he so calm despite the fact that his worst fears could be realized? Was it because Ludwig was here? How he had such a strange calming effect on him? Well, it couldn't be that, because the close distance between the both of them was making his heart beat so fast it might just fail on him at this very moment. Which actually, he really wouldn't mind.

_**[Are you sure you want to know?]**_

_Veneziano…_

_**[The truth can set you free or constrict you even more. If you know now, you might as well be throwing yourself in the fire.]**_

_It's all right. You yourself said that I'm not supposed to exist, right?_ Feliciano smiled. _I want to know what you're talking about._

_**[Are you saying that if it turns out that you're the Iniquum…]**_

_Wouldn't that make you the Iniquum as well? Would that mean that if I died, you would too?_

_**[No. We may be the same person, but we are separated mentally. If one of us dies, the other one will be safe.]**_

_Good…so if it turns out that I'm the Iniquum…you won't be hurt…_

_**[Are you saying that…?]**_

_If I'm going to die in the end…I didn't want you to suffer on my behalf. Now that I know that you won't…_

Veneziano fell silent, leaving Feliciano alone with his thoughts. It was good, concerning the fact that he was still scared of him. If Feliciano wasn't supposed to exist, that would mean that Veneziano must've…

"Hey, Feli! Where exactly are we going?"

**/="Kanonno's Theme" by Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2=/**

"Huh? Oh, uh…" He turned to Magnus. "We're going toward the light over there."

"Light? What light?" Lukas looked up. "I don't see anything."

"What are you talking about? It's right there!" Tino pointed at it.

"I still don't see it." He said.

"It's calling out to the _Gekozen."_ Berwald stated. "Lukas can't see it because he isn't one."

"Seriously?" Lovino darted his head around. "Lukas doesn't have a _Vitula?"_

"No. I was just born with a spiritual talent, just a step lower of you idiots." Lukas answered. "And quite frankly, I don't mind it."

Feliciano blinked in surprise, recalling that ordinary people are a lot more common than he thought. After being surrounded by thousands of _Gekozen_ in this period of time, it was actually a little calming to see that there were ordinary people in his life. That's when he realized that Eduard was one of them as well.

Home…he wanted to be home.

He looked at Ludwig with a smile, and the blond saw that it had a strange sense of sadness in it, before Feliciano walked further into the woods toward the light. After a few minutes, he found himself right in the middle of the light…to where his answers were…

**/=[DRAMATIC SILENCE…]=/**

"Uh, Feliciano?" Magnus looked around. "There's nothing here."

"Nice to see that your eyes are still working, jackass." Lovino grumbled.

"But the light is still here." Ludwig looked up. "If it only beckons to _Gekozen,_ that means that we should be here."

"So what are we looking for?" Emil asked.

Feliciano looked around at the empty meadow, filled with trees covered with snow, and couldn't help but hear something from the back of his mind. He had the image of a young man with a uniform carrying a baby in his arms. The baby was silent, not crying or cooing, just sleeping. The man looked up to the sky.

"_**Do you see this? This is snow."**_ The man said. _**"It's cold too. You're going to a place where it's forever warm, so I thought I should teach you what the feeling cold is."**_

He had a strange laugh and the most golden eyes that he had ever seen in his life. There was only one other person that had eyes that might've been close toward his golden color, and that was…

…_father?_

"So we finally caught up with you…"

With those words, everything seemingly vanished into the light.

**/= "The Theme of Awakening and Burgeoning - behind the scenes -" by RomaHeta=/**

"Crap, they found us…"

Everyone turned their heads to see that there were four figures standing right behind them, murderous looks on their faces. Instantly they raised their weapons, and Ludwig stood in front of Feliciano. Out of pure body reaction, he clung to the back of his shirt and shivered.

"_It's them…"_ He whispered.

"_Just stay behind me."_ Ludwig held his arm. _"We'll get away from them."_

"_No…you can't-"_

"The truth is…I didn't want any of this, Feliciano." Alfred held his gun, still in the holster. "But we don't have a choice…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Magnus screamed. "What do you have against Feliciano?"

"What, you didn't know?" Francis tsked. "Naughty, naughty, Feliciano. Hasn't anyone told you that lying is bad for you?"

"What?" Magnus paused.

"Feliciano…" Tino turned to him. "What are they talking about?"

"Feliciano is the Iniquum."

Everyone darted their heads to Emil, who said it so nonchalantly. Ludwig held him closer, his finger already at the weapon, while Lovino had already backed up a good two feet. Meanwhile, Feliciano was crying on his back. This was the exact reaction he had been fearing.

"He's the Iniquum…" Lukas repeated.

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Magnus asked.

"Because…" He flipped his hair.

**/="Confidence" by Pandora Hearts=/**

"I don't believe it."

He froze.

"When I was reading his mind…I didn't feel any sense of malice or evil toward anything or anyone. If I know anything about the Iniquum, it's that he has pure evil in his blood." Emil stated. "All he had was acceptance and forgiveness toward everyone, even you who hunt him."

"Emil…"

"Did you know that he was even willing to allow you to kill him because he knew that it was for the best?" That statement made everyone freeze up. "That acceptance that is like a saint…would the Iniquum really do something like that?"

"Emil…wait…"

"That's right! Emil always sees the truth with his powers!" Magnus grinned. "If he says that he's been falsely accused, then I believe him! You are just wrong, and maybe it's because of your blondness!"

"Magnus…you're blond."

"_**SHUT UP, LUKAS!"**_

"That's right! Feliciano can't be the Iniquum!" Tino stood strong. "Please believe us!"

"I'm sorry…but we can't do that." Antonio turned toward Lovino. "I'm sorry, tomato…but I don't know how to show mercy."

"_**DAMN STRAIGHT YOU DON'T! AND STOP CALLING ME TOMATO, YOU BASTARD!"**_ Lovino screamed. "I am so ready to KICK YOUR ASS!"

Feliciano stood there, tears in his eyes, as everyone defended him. He felt accepted and loved, just like he had felt when he was with his guild. He clung onto Ludwig, hot tears going down his face, making the blond straighten himself out.

"_We're going to get you out of here…and we won't harm any of them…"_

"_Ludwig…you can't fight them…they're out to kill me…"_

"_For no reason. You are no Iniquum…"_ He sighed with a smile. _"The Feliciano I know would never be anything like that."_

Feliciano smiled as he clung closer toward him, feeling the strong heartbeat that was in his chest. No doubt Ludwig would've felt it too, but he was too busy covering Feliciano to remark upon it. If only time would allow him to be like this forever…

_**[Time will always reveal the truth to us…and it will always rip away our good memories…]**_

_Veneziano? _He froze. _What are you talking about?_

_**[I'm saying that your part in this story…is over…]**_

**/=[Small bit of silence, just so you know]=/**

Feliciano tore himself away from Ludwig, startling everyone. He stumbled into the beam of light, finally revealing something: his body was glowing and disappearing in areas. Everyone gasped as Ludwig ran to his side, trying to hold onto the sides yet failing to touch anything.

"Feliciano…Feliciano!"

"…_it hurts, Ludwig…"_ He whispered, crying. _"I can't….move…."_

"What's going on?"

"_It's Veneziano…"_ He answered. _"Veneziano's taking over…"_

"But it was never like this before!"

"…_it's permanent, Ludwig…he's taking over permanently…"_

"_**What did you say…?"**_

"_Good-bye, Ludwig…and I'm sorry…"_

**/="Holy Light" by Tales of Destiny=/**

He was thrown back by a force of light. He looked up and saw that Veneziano was now in charge, holding a strange golden scepter in his hands and now sporting wings. There was no longer any trace of Felicano anywhere in his eyes. Ludwig quickly went to his feet.

"This part of him was inside his mind…?" Emil gasped. "But…I never saw this when I was reading his mind…"

"That scepter…that's the Sceptrum Angelis…" Arthur looked up. "You're the Sigillato Attraversa…"

_**[…good eye. At least there's one person who can figure it out without being told.]**_ He glared at him. _**[I am the Sigillato Attravera…I am Veneziano…]**_

"…Feliciano…" Ludwig stood up. "What did you do to him?"

_**[The real Feliciano died in his mother's womb. The one you met was nothing more than a cover…from a child that I found in the ocean.]**_ Veneziano answered. _**[He was created to house me, to fit me into society, to mix with the expectations of the world around him.]**_

"Expectations? What bullshit!" Lovino spat. "What expectations?"

_**[Didn't Yong Soo wish to see him as a good leader for his guild, even though Feliciano didn't want to? Didn't Lovino want Feliciano to do anything about it? Didn't Arthur not think that he knew his powers well? Didn't his friends think he was the sweetest child around?]**_ He turned to Ludwig. _**[Didn't you, Ludwig…once in your childhood life…wanted someone that had pure, innocent love?]**_

He froze.

_**[The guise is over now. It's time for me to leave.]**_

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**See how the plot changes in the next chapter.**


	28. The Iniquum's True Form

**So who was depressed about the whole Veneziano = Feliciano business? Oh right, you wanted the chapter. Sorry. Plug in those controllers and you might want some headphones before you load it ;D**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Holy Light" by Tales of Destiny=/**

"You're…going?" Ludwig blinked.

_**[I have descended only for the Iniquum. This is my fight, and my fight alone…no one else must interfere.]**_

"Bastard, you're not going anywhere!" Lovino spat. "You're not going to ditch us and keep my brother with you at the same time!"

_**[Haven't you been paying attention? I said your brother was long gone.]**_ Veneziano spat. _**[He wasn't ever alive…what you saw was a fake…a copy, an image.]**_

"That was not a copy!" Lovino argued. "He was too real…he had a heart, he had emotions! He was real to us, dammit!"

_**[…humans. They're so naïve.]**_ Veneziano looked away. _**[Feliciano's soul was the only one who can handle my powers. Anyone else and their souls would cease to exist.]**_

"What are you talking about?" Lukas blinked. "You just said that Feliciano was dead."

_**[He is…in order for me to achieve a human form, I have to fuse with those souls. And I need a human form in order to find the Iniquum…]**_

"So Feliciano is in there!" Antonio chirped. "He's alive?"

_**[No…his soul is now completely one with me.]**_ Veneziano turned away from them. _**[This body is mine…and mine alone.]**_

Everyone froze at that statement. Ludwig had it the hardest. You could see it in his fists. Without a warning, he launched himself into the air and started screaming towards Veneziano with a locked fist. Of course he was able to catch it easily, watching Ludwig attack with rage in his eyes.

"Don't talk about him like he's just a toy!" He screamed. "He was human, Veneziano! I thought you knew that!"

_**[Such skill…no wonder he looked up to you…]**_

He dodged another punch and launched him to the other side of the clearing, hearing him crash into the trees. From the back of his head, he could hear faint sobbing and a quiet plea of help, but he quickly ignored it as nothing else. Meanwhile, everyone else stood there in shock.

_**[You're the one who made him like he was, Ludwig. He was only shaped to match your expectations.]**_

"_No…"_ Ludwig stood up weakly. "You say that like's a robot…he wasn't!"

_**[Come on, Ludwig…accept it! The only reason why he loved you was the reaction of a childhood fantasy! You weren't loved when you were a child, you were just an experiment!]**_ Veneziano stepped forward. _**[Accept reality, why don't you? He had no feelings of his own…]**_

"_No…you're wrong."_ Ludwig snapped. "He was human. Even if he was just a toy to you…he was human to the rest of us."

_**[Oh? Are you what they call human?]**_

Everyone stared in confusion as Veneziano lifted his fingers and pointed toward Ludwig. Instantly he dropped to his knees and cringed, his _Vitula_ shining blindly on his shoulders. What shocked them was that the symbols that formed it were inching farther down his back as if it was a poison. From the back of his head, someone was screaming.

_**[You're a disgrace…you're just like Feliciano.]**_

"…Ludwig?" Alfred stepped forward, aiming his gun at Veneziano. "What the hell did you do to him?"

_**[The both of you are just running on borrowed time. Feliciano stays alive as long as I need him to be. You, on the other hand, are just fighting to make sure your powers don't kill you…]**_ Veneziano sighed. _**[You're a disgrace of a Gekozen, being given this by the humans.]**_

Ludwig looked up as he tried to fight down the pain of his spreading disease. He could see Veneziano standing over him with his hand up as if to slap someone. Suddenly, he heard something that sounded like a blade, and felt cold steel going through his chest.

"_**Ludwig!"**_ Magnus screamed.

He looked down at the blood on his chest and blade, looking up to see Veneziano holding a blade of light from his fingertips and seeing his blank face. Through his blurry eyes, he could faintly see flashes of a familiar young man standing over him with tears welling up in his eyes.

"…_Feliciano…?"_

The blade was pulled out of his body, and he collapsed onto the ground. Veneziano stared at him for a few minutes before looking up and seeing a bolt of electricity shooting straight at him. He looked up and saw that Magnus's left cheek was glowing, a huge orb of electricity shooting out of his right palm.

**/="Battle: Summoned Beast" by Final Fantasy X=/**

"You think you can just leave after doing that to him?" He spat. "You got another thing coming."

_**[You really don't know anything about this man, don't you?]**_ Veneziano stepped back. _**[He's a bastard child in the Creation Project…Project Heilrich…the only survivor. He shouldn't have stayed alive.]**_

"That doesn't mean you go around killing them off!" Tino stated. "You're horrible! How are we supposed to know if you're not the Iniquum yourself?"

_**[If you think that I am…then come and get me.]**_

"CAN DO!"

Magnus and Lovino charged, weapons in hand. They started rapidly attacking him as much as they could, watching in horror as he was dodging them as if they were the wind. After they paused, Veneziano appeared from behind them and blasted them away, a symbol glowing on his forehead.

_It's another Vitula…?_ Lovino gasped.

Veneziano turned his head around and saw Francis charging toward him with a rapier in his hand, his left arm glowing rapidly. He was faster than usual, attacking Veneziano with the best of his ability. From behind, Antonio was lifting his hands and the trees started extending their leaves toward him. Instantly, Veneziano spun around with his ears glowing, and fire surrounded him burning the leaves away. Then he turned and kicked Francis away. As he spun, he caught Alfred's bullet.

_**[Is that the best you can do?]**_

"Nope! I'm just getting started!" Alfred turned to Arthur. "You ready over there?"

"I'm ready."

Alfred's hands started glowing as he punched the ground, the earth shooting up into the air. Arthur started to chant as the earth formed into an earth dragon, charging toward Veneziano with a roar. He only smiled as his shoulders started to glow and the dragon disintegrated into nothing.

"This…this is impossible…" Tino panicked, his hands over Ludwig's wound. "He has all the _Vitula_ in the world…"

"How can we fight him…?" Arthur gasped.

"I got it." Lukas turned to Berwald. "You ready?"

Berwald shot up four icicles around Veneziano as Lukas lifted his hands, two of his fingers glowing bright blue. He shot toward them and made the icicles shoot more spikes in it like an Iron Maiden. They looked up and saw him flying in the air before shooting down meteors onto them. He landed before getting into a one-on-one fight with Alfred, ending with him being thrown into a nearby tree.

_**[I must give you credit: you humans have such close bonds toward a fallen comrade.]**_ Veneziano said. _**[Just for that, I won't kill you. Forget that Feliciano ever existed and go on with your lives. Your hunt is over.]**_

"Oh dear…he's fully awakened."

Everyone looked up in shock to see Madre flying over them, black wings flying out of her back. Her whole body was glowing, showing a _Vitula_ that seemed to blink orange-black. She lifted her finger and spun it in a circle, and the ground shattered around them.

_**[Madre…I should've known you're the Iniquum.]**_ He smiled. _**[Using Feliciano as a cover…not bad.]**_

"I know. But you've been using him as a cover as well, haven't you?" She answered. "You're just as bad as I am."

_**[It doesn't matter. You, as the Iniquum, will not do what you want on this land.]**_

"And why? Here I thought you hated the humans."

Everyone turned toward Veneziano as he looked at her with a blank look on his face. She widened her eyes as vines came out of her back and shot themselves toward him. Veneziano was about to counter when he saw a shadow over him and the sound of flesh being pierced. He opened his eyes and saw that Ludwig had gotten between them. He gagged out more blood.

_**[…Ludwig?]**_ He felt something inside himself. Pain?

"…_I'm sorry…but I couldn't…let her hurt you…"_

_**[You're extremely stupid, you know that?]**_ He screamed with tears in his eyes. This wasn't like him. _**[I can defend myself, you know!]**_

"_I know...but…this is for…Feliciano…"_

The vines shot out of his body and he collapsed into Veneziano's arms. Madre looked at him with a sad look on her face before shaking her head and flying higher into the air. Veneizano looked up in shock as she blew a kiss to him.

"Poor Ludwig…if only he cooperated." She smiled. "His wounds are so bad; you're the only one who can save him. You can either do that…or follow me. Your call. Well, see you."

**/="moon" by Umineko no Naku Koro Ni=/**

Madre vanished into the light above them as the light vanished. However, despite what anyone thought, Veneziano stayed with Ludwig. He lifted up his hands onto the wounds on his back, his fingers glowing and slowly healing him. He turned his head toward Tino.

_**[Get over here, Tino! We need you!]**_

"R-right!"

Tino went up to his feet and ran to his side, lifting his hands and slowly healing Ludwig's wounds. The blond looked up weakly as he saw a determined look on his face, trying to heal all the wounds that he could. He thought he saw a tear in one of them.

"…_Veneziano?"_

_**[Don't talk. You need rest.]**_

"_You…seem so much like Feliciano…"_

_**[S-shut up…Feliciano isn't here anymore…]**_

"_Then why are you here…?"_

He blinked, unable to respond. The truth was, something in his body was begging him to save him no matter what. What was that? Was it Feliciano? But that man…that man doesn't exist anymore! Then who was this voice calling to him? Ludwig could only smile.

"_Feliciano is…still alive…thank goodness…"_

Veneziano turned down to Ludwig's smiling form, only to stare at the wound that he had given him. Instantly, he saw a glowing circle with a star in the middle right over that wound, appearing on his back as well. Tino gasped, seeing the strange change as well.

"I-Is this is _Vitula?"_ He asked. "But I thought all _Gekozen_ only get one of them!"

_**[Well…Ludwig here is a special case…aren't you?]**_

**/=+=/**

Veneziano hovered deeper into his mind, looking through the darkness for any sign of the young man he had taken the form of. Even though this realm was his and his alone, he never thought that finding someone was going to be so hard.

_**[You told me to save him, didn't you? You must still be alive in here somewhere.]**_

He floated around again, trying to see if he could see a fleeting image of what could be left. Sure enough, just as he predicted, he saw nothing of the sort. Feliciano was gone from his mind…just like he wanted. He turned around and saw a floating light behind him, looking like the baby that he had found floating in a riverbed.

_**[You're still alive…but how…?]**_

Veneziano lifted his hands underneath the baby, feeling the warmth of the light. He instantly felt a heartbeat coming from the boy, twitching as if he was only sleeping in the womb. He closed his eyes and whispered _"Ludwig",_ and the baby slowly began to glow and age.

_**[You're really human, aren't you…fighting with all your strength just to achieve what you want.]**_ Veneziano smiled. _**[I'm glad to say that I underestimated you.]**_

He was now a young boy.

_**[I will still have to fight the Iniquum, no matter what. I am the creator of all Gekozen and the bearer of all Vitula. Being older than the humans that I grant my power to, I thought I knew everything about them. I wish I knew how much I have learned from you.]**_

He was turning into a young man.

_**[Feliciano, I have learned a lot from you. I learned about the humans that I have to save, and that I have much to learn.]**_

_**[Go. He needs you.]**_

**/="Happiness in My Hand" by Tales of the Abyss=/**

Ludwig's eyes flickered open, revealing himself to be in the middle of a tent. He looked around and instantly realized that he was in the middle of the caverns that he had found Magnus in. He turned his head around and saw that Veneziano was sitting at his side, his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. He saw him twitch and strange instinct kicked in. Ludwig quickly stilled himself and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Feliciano opened his eyes and looked around, seeing himself inside one of the tents in Magnus' home. He looked down at his hands and moved them, surprised that he was moving them and not looking through Veneziano's eyes. He blinked in surprise.

_I'm…alive? Veneziano, why did you…?_

He looked up and saw Ludwig sleeping peacefully in front of him. Instantly, he remembered what Veneziano did to him and held back a breath. That's when he saw it: a scar on his chest that signified where the sword had met its target. Feliciano shivered as he lightly traced it with his finger. Ludwig had to do his best not to twitch.

"_Did…did I do this to you…?"_

His eyes started to water, and he started crying on him. That quickly made Ludwig open his eyes and turn his head, seeing the innocent young man holding his face in his hands. Slowly, he lifted his hand and held his cheek, stopping him. Familiar golden eyes looked back at him.

"…Feliciano?" Ludwig gasped. "You're…here…"

"L-Ludwig…" Feliciano lightly held his hand. "Thank goodness…you're alive…"

Ludwig slowly sat up, revealing that he wasn't wearing a shirt at all. Feliciano stared at his smile for a few seconds before his gaze leaned back to the scar on his chest. Without even thinking about it, he leaned forward and kissed it, making Ludwig blush in surprise. It was then that Feliciano finally realized what he did and tried to pull away, but Ludwig lightly hugged him. He cried on his chest.

While in his embrace, Ludwig turned his head and saw that there was a mirror next to him. Without even thinking he activated his _Vitula_, seeing his usual symbol appear on his shoulders and neck. What he wasn't expecting was that another one appeared over the scar on his back and chest. Feliciano gasped as he saw that the symbol was glowing on his chest.

"W-what is…?"

"I…I don't know…" Ludwig looked surprised. "I just woke up and…it was there."

"This is…a _Vitula?"_ Feliciano touched it again. "Did Veneziano give this to you?"

"I…" He turned back to the mirror and saw that the _Vitula_ that he had recently obtained was mixing together with the ones on his shoulder. It was actually shrinking away. "It's…not affecting me anymore."

"_Ludwig…"_

He turned back down to Feliciano, his face still leaning on his chest and feeling his heartbeat. They looked at each other for a few long seconds before Ludwig lightly held Feliciano's cheek. Soon the brunette was reaching up toward him, his eyes closing, as…

"_**WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MI FRATELLO, YOU BASTARD?"**_

He didn't even have to look up as he was immediately bashed away by a screaming Lovino. Poor Feliciano stood there in a blank way of shock as Lovino turned his head.

"And as for _**YOU**_, Veneziano, don't go _**whoring**_ out my brother like that-" He paused. "…Feliciano?"

"…Fratello." Feliciano smiled. "I'm back."

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[MAGNUS]-** _Electricity manipulation. He's at the level where he can safely absorb over 100,000 Volts and can fuse it with anything, even people, without any harm._ Vitula: Left face cheek

**[FRANCIS]-**_ Controls emotions and hormones. In battle, this is usually centered toward adrenaline._ Vitula: Left arm

**[ANTONIO]-** _Plant manipulation._ Vitula: Both hands, like gloves

**[MADRE]-** _Ultimate power, but it cuts her life short. Unfortunately, immortality is part of her power._ Vitula: Skin

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**I was going to make this two chapters…but I had no idea how to separate them, so I ended up making this an extremely long one instead. **


	29. Let Us Go Home

**Happy that Feliciano's back? Most likely. Oh well, whatever. Next chapter! You wanna play the game now?**

**EDIT: I added the music! Somehow I forgot it. Sorry :P**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Memories" by Professor Layton=/**

Feliciano was led by the other two into the main lobby. As he turned the corner, he saw that Alfred and his group were talking to Lukas. Everyone looked up and saw that it was Feliciano and not Veneziano, then they all started hugging him one by one.

"Holy crap, you're alive!" Magnus hugged him the tightest. "Dude, we thought you were-"

"I thought so too…" He answered with a sad smile. "But I'm alive now. Thank you for worrying about me, Magnus."

"Come on, of course I would be worried! You're the most freakingly adorable person I have ever met in my life!" He chirped. "And I know what they're like…easily emotionally traumatized!"

"Ve~~~I'm not traumatized…"

Unconsciously, Ludwig noticed that Feliciano gave a sad glance toward him. Magnus was actually right…for once. Fortunately, Lovino didn't seem to notice so they were in the safe zone. Slowly, Magnus let Feliciano go from his grip and left him standing alone for the others to see. Arthur stood up and walked toward him.

"Do you feel any different?" He asked.

"…no. Just a little more…_awkward since everyone's staring at me…"_ He backed up with a light blush. "But I'm OK…"

"Can you activate your _Vitula _for me?"

Feliciano stared at him with a strange look on his face before backing up and doing so. He only noticed that it was his usual one that was glowing, not the thousands that were on his skin before when Veneziano was in control. The stare at him made him shiver and unconsciously hide behind Ludwig with a cute whimper _(much to Lovino's displeasure)_. Ludwig could only remember what Lovino walked into and blushed, covering his face.

"So Feliciano's _Vitula_ is separated from Veneziano's…" Arthur concluded. "That would mean that Feliciano is not the Sigillato Attraversa, despite the fact that he's housing it in his body."

"W-what does that make me then?" Feliciano asked, peeking over Ludwig's arm.

"That would make him a vessel then…" Arthur answered. "Seeing as how you're here now, both of you must've made some form of truce."

"So…I'm normal now?"

"Most likely." Arthur grinned. "A lot more normal than Francis."

Everyone blew into an argument about who's the most normal as Feliciano watched everything happen before his eyes. It reminded him so much of home, back with Ivan stalking Toris and Gilbert and seeing Yong Soo groping people's breasts again.

"…_Ludwig…"_

"_Hm?"_ He turned to Feliciano.

"_I…I want to go home…"_

"…" He looked up. "Alfred."

"Hm?" He looked up from an argument. "What?"

"We know that Madre is the Iniquum now, so…" He turned to Feliciano. "Is it possible for him to go home?"

"Oh. Of course!" He answered. "We should be able to clear his name!"

Feliciano's ears perked up at the sound of those words, a light going through his eyes. Ludwig couldn't help but smile at the beauty that was shining in his eyes. His grip on his arm was getting tighter. He can finally go home now…he can go home…

**/="Kanashiki Kako" by Shaman King=/**

"You serious? You lost him in the mountains?"

"Well at least we did something!" Vash screamed at him. "All you did was preach about Feliciano's evil qualities! You didn't even bother to lift a finger!"

"You don't think that…" Erika looked at her brother. "He was falsely accused?"

"Of course not! Madre was the one who told me that he was evil." Sadiq stated. "And whatever she says, it's true."

"That's a problem…Madre is extremely trustworthy…" Elizabeta blinked. "Roderich, how can we prove his innocence now?"

"_The only thing I can think of is that Madre was planning this from the start."_ Roderich answered. _"In that case, trying to argue her case is going to be hard."_

Elizabeta sank back in defeat as the group of people started to argue with Sadiq about his previous statement. Suddenly there was muttering in their area. They turned around to see Feliciano walking through the crowd with his head down, Ludwig and Lovino at his side. Sadiq grinned.

"So the Iniquum is back…good for you. It saves our hunting to a minimum."

Sadiq lifted his hand up and grabbed Feliciano's throat, causing Ludwig to step forward with a hand on his whip. He was able to attack when he saw Feliciano's shaking hand telling him that it was OK. After a few minutes, he lifted that hand and grabbed his arm.

_**[Let. Me. Go.]**_

He quickly transformed into his Holy robes, throwing everyone back. Sadiq paused in shock, staring at the man in front of him, as Lovino started chuckling to himself trying not to look like a complete moron. Meanwhile, Feliciano hovered over him again.

_**[You've just been used by Madre, Sadiq. Since you're too stupid to realize that, I'll be able to let you go.]**_

"T-this power…" He went to his feet. "You really are the Iniquum…"

_**[No…I'm the Sigillato Attravera…the complete opposite.]**_ He answered. _**[I'm the one that gave you your power…and I can easily take it away from you.]**_

"…the ultimate power…"

_**[You might as well leave now…before I take that power away from you…]**_

Sadiq paused for a few minutes before running out into the edges of the town. Everyone looked at Feliciano as he levitated to the ground and stopped glowing, his hands folded as if he was praying. Slowly, he turned his head around and looked at Ludwig.

**/="Reala" by Tales of Destiny 2=/**

"Ve~~~did I do well, Ludwig?"

_HE WAS IN CONTROL __**THIS ENTIRE TIME?**_

Lovino started howling with laughter as the rest of the crowd looked up at the man standing in front of him. Suddenly, they heard Antonio pull through the crowd with a smile on his face and a tomato in his hand.

"Feliciano is telling the truth." He lifted his tomato as he winked. "I was there~"

Everyone stared at him as Feliciano turned back into his real form. Soon, everyone started smiling and clapping at the fact that he was innocent. That alone made Feliciano cry and wipe a small tear away from his eye. After that, he felt a hand on his back. He turned around and saw Roderich's smile.

"Welcome home, Feliciano."

"…I'm home, Roderich…"

**/=+=/**

It had been a while since he had seen the guild building. Feliciano smiled as he lifted a hand toward the door and slowly opened it, feeling familiar air on his skin.

"Your breasts belong to _**ME**_, da ze!"

Feliciano squeaked in shock as Yong Soo jumped out of nowhere and grabbed his boobs. He turned his head, stammering like a nutcase, and saw that Yong Soo had the biggest grin that he had ever seen on his face. It unnerved him a little.

"I heard you're back, da ze! Is everyone alive?"

"Everyone's alive, Yong Soo." He answered.

"Thank goodness! Húdié Mei made everyone's favorite, so I didn't want to tell everyone that someone was dead!"

"Food? _**WHO SAID FOOD?"**_

Feliciano looked up and saw _(with surprise)_ that Magnus had charged out of nowhere toward the dining room. Lovino grumbled something to himself as he followed him through the halls. Yong Soo chirped something as he charged on after him. He turned his head to see that the rest of the new friends were following the screaming into the building.

"Tino?" He blinked. "I didn't know you followed us."

"Magnus didn't want to leave you." He answered. "Besides, we wanted to go somewhere warm and Lukas wants to look further into your vessel business."

"Oh…OK." He smiled. "As long as there's no experimenting."

He nodded as he followed Berwald into the dining room. Feliciano chuckled, wanting nothing more than to see his friends again, when he turned his head and realized that he was alone with Ludwig again. A blush ran through his face and he turned away, making Ludwig blush as well.

_Veneziano said that he loved me back then…_ The blond thought. _But…he also said that he loves me because I wished for it. Does that mean that…his love for me is fake? Nonexistent?_

He found himself walking toward the brunette.

_I can't make him love me…even though he already does. I can't think about things like this…it'll only force Feliciano to love me even more…_

_But…I…_

He stood right in front of Feliciano, watching the light blush get even redder on his cheeks. His eyes narrowed, a smile on his face, making Feliciano smile as well. The brunette chuckled, covering his mouth with one of his hands and liking the short distance between them.

"I was worried that you might've tripped and fallen somewhere."

They both looked up and saw Ivan smiling and leaning on the doorway to the dining room. Ludwig cleared his throat, trying to catch himself again, as Feliciano chirped and hugged Ivan.

"I'm home, Ivan~!"

"Nice to see that too…and I heard that you're not accused as the Iniquum anymore! That's good, da?"

"Ve~~~of course that's good!"

"Well, now that I know you're good, can we show the others that you're doing well?"

"Ve~~~~I have so much to tell them!"

Feliciano charged toward the dining room, seeing Magnus getting into an argument with Gilbert about the last piece of steak. Once he came through, everyone got up on their feet and started hugging him one by one, all cheering at the fact that he was home. Feliciano couldn't help but cry.

_I'm home…I'm finally home…_

**/=[END OF PART II]=/**

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**So yeah…interesting. Part II was extremely small but had the most plot twists, da? Part III's going to be the ending part, so…watch out for that. And I want to throw out one random question in advance so that I can preplan for it: do any of you guys want any lemon-**

***SMACKED DOWN***

**-pie in the third part? I'll make sure to keep it a minimal, and I probably won't even do it anyway if I plan it perfectly well. But anyway…any of you guys want lemon…pie in the third part?**


	30. What He Wants From The Depths of a Soul

**Feliciano's home…thank goodness, eh? By the way, the question about the lemon pie…you can keep voting on it until I tell you that it's over, kay? So if you change your mind, than do so. Just don't multi-vote, cause I know who voted for what :D**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Skip" by Pandora Hearts=/**

The party of Feliciano's return ran off deep into the night, mainly with Arthur and Francis drinking and traumatizing the poor innocent souls in the room _(which wasn't Yong Soo, just so you know)_. After Húdié Mei kicked them out of the way, Feliciano proceeded to the buffet line to eat the good food. Suddenly, he felt the wind move.

"My brother is here…"

Everyone froze as they saw the image of a young woman teleport right in the middle of the room. Her silver hair immediately caught Feliciano's attention, and the fact that she turned straight toward Ivan was an indication that something isn't right…

"Hello…brother…"

"N-N-Natalya!" Ivan stammered. "H-how did you find me?"

"I knew where to look…" She walked toward him. "Now, brother…_**become one with me…"**_

"Oh! Is there a party going on?"

Irunya entered the door of the building just as Ivan ran out the door with Natalya hot on his trail. She stared back at the others, more importantly the eyes of a very happy young man with a curl. Heck, even the curl was smiling.

"Your breasts _**SO**_ belong to me, da ze!"

She screamed as Yong Soo jumped her _**hard**_. What ended up occurring was that both Vash and Yïngguó Shi were trying to pry him off the poor girl to no avail. He turned to Lovino with a weird look on his face. The brother threw his hands up in the air.

"We're going home."

**/="The Narrow World ~Mist~" by Tales of Destiny 2=/**

Feliciano's eyes flickered open, surprised that he was looking up to the familiar sewn ceiling and not a bright blue sky or the dark rocks of a cavern. He rolled over, feeling the softness of the bed, and was extremely happy to be home. He was so happy, in fact, that he couldn't sleep a wink in his bed. He just wanted to be in the bed forever, hugging each pillow.

_**[You look happy, Feliciano.]**_

He wasn't surprised, turning his head around to see an image of Veneziano hovering at his bedside. He wasn't making any move to attack him over or take over his mind, so Feliciano deemed him safe. He sat up.

"I am, Veneziano." He smiled. "And I see that you're not calling me Vargas anymore."

_**[I haven't been calling you that for a while, Feliciano. Haven't you noticed that?]**_

"Oh…I guess I haven't." He chuckled. "Thank you, though…for saving Ludwig…"

_**[You saved him, Feliciano. I don't know how, but you called me to save him.]**_

"D-did I? I…how?"

_**[Those are matters that I will discuss another time. For now, you should know about Madre.]**_

"…she's the Iniquum, right? And you have to fight her?"

_**[Yes, I do. It's my duty, not yet translated in your Church's texts.]**_ Veneziano turned his head around. _**[And what else…there is a consequence that comes from me fighting her.]**_

"W-what?"

_**[She has powers similar to mine…and in order for me to stop her, I…I have to use my full power.] **_He said. _**[A power that your body cannot handle.]**_

"…what are you saying?"

_**[If I fight the Iniquum with all my power…you will cease to exist. This time, I can't save you.]**_

Feliciano paused at that statement. The truth was sinking in slowly: he was going to die to save the world. To save the world that he had grown to love, by living here and meeting so many people…

"…OK."

_**[OK?]**_

"As if…it's OK. This is for the world, Veneziano. You came here to protect it, and I don't want to stand in your way anymore…"

_**[And what about Ludwig?]**_

That name made Feliciano close his eyes and smile. He didn't feel scared anymore, now that he heard that name. Everything was to save the world, but he was doing this for Ludwig. He had just been given a new key in life, a _Vitula_ that will negate the parasite effect that the experiment had given him. He wanted him to live, more than anything else that he had ever wished.

_**[Pure, innocent love…just like he wished for…]**_

"…you said something like that to him, right? That I loved him just because he wanted me to?"

_**[That was how I created you…to accept what others thought of you and unconsciously make it your own.]**_

"…you're wrong. On that part of me…you're wrong." He said. "I love him because he's Ludwig, not because he wished that he'd love me."

_**[…exactly as how I thought you would be like. Pure, innocent love that is unchanged and unaffected.]**_

"Not a lie." He smiled. "It's not a lie, no matter what you say."

_**[I've thought of that from you as well. And that is perfectly all right.]**_ Veneziano backed away. _**[You should get some rest. You deserve it.]**_

Veneziano vanished into the depths of his mind, leaving Feliciano alone. Smiling, he stood up and walked out of the room, seeing Lovino sleeping on the couch. After a few minutes, he quietly opened the door and closed it behind him.

**/="Vanile's Theme" by Final Fantasy XIII=/**

"_Hellooooo, Ivaaaannn…"_

Feliciano passed by and saw Natalya walking behind Ivan with a creepy look on her face, scaring poor Ivan. He quickly ran out of the way and hid into the woods, making sure that no one saw him. Before he knew it, he found himself standing on a familiar hill with an even more familiar figure sitting on it.

"…Ludwig?"

He turned his head, a smile on his face, making Feliciano smile as well. A light blush erupted on his face as he joined the blond in sitting next to him. He tried to have a good distance between the both of them, but after a while he found himself leaning on the muscular man.

"_I missed this view, Ludwig."_ He whispered.

"I know that you do, Feliciano. This is a beautiful view." Ludwig smiled, looking out into the distance. "With all the lights on the Church, it looks majestic from here."

"I know…I'm so glad that I can see it again." Feliciano smiled.

He cuddled closer toward Ludwig as the blond looked back at the Church, before turning his view toward the ocean. He could hear the waves crashing on the shore, and he remembered what Felicano had told him a long time ago…back when the days can easily pass…

"_I woke up in the ocean and I felt like I was floating on air…"_

"_The first day of my life…"_

He turned toward Feliciano, who had just lifted a hand to his arm, feeling the light brush of his fingers on the tip of his skin. Without shaking him he removed his glove from his hand, and then slowly touched the other man's fingers. He felt him jump as his head turned toward each other. Their eyes met.

"…Ludwig?"

They both knew it. They both knew what the other wanted, but they didn't know how they were going to say it. Simply put: they're up a creek without a paddle or even a boat. Slowly, Ludwig lifted up Feliciano's hand and kissed his fingertips, making Feliciano blush and shiver.

"_W-what…Ludwig, what are you…?"_

"_Feliciano, I…"_

They were looking deep into each other's eyes, the awkwardness dying away. Feliciano's face was illuminated with a beautiful pink blush, shining angelically in the moonlight. Ludwig's hand gripped tighter on Feliciano's, scared that he might lose him again. His _Vitula_, the one over his scar, seemed to glow a shining blue in the moonlight.

"…_Ludwig, I…I'm going to fight Madre soon…"_ Feliciano whispered. _"I have to go bring Veneziano there…"_

"…_you're not going alone."_ He answered. _"I'm going with you."_

"_But Ludwig, I-"_

"_Stop it. Please, stop it." _His grip grew tighter. _"You have to stop torturing yourself like this…you don't have to do everything yourself."_

"_Ludwig, I can't put anyone else in danger…"_ Feliciano saw Ludwig's hand pull closer to his face. _"Everyone has given so much because of me, and…"_

He felt an arm going around his waist, taking his breath away. It forced him to look straight up into Ludwig's eyes…those bright blue, shining eyes…weren't they dead colored before? He remembered the first time he saw them they looked so out…

"_Feliciano…they do it because they care about you…"_ He closed his eyes. _"I care about you…"_

Ludwig's forehead touched Feliciano's, making the brunette's blush turn an extremely dark red. His hand dropped, leaving Ludwig's ungloved hand touching his face. The breath down his neck was the only thing that was making him shake in his arms.

"_Feliciano, I…"_ He opened his eyes. _"I-"_

"Aw…is that my darling Lovino~?"

Ludwig grumbled to himself as they moved away and looked up and saw a man walking through the bushes. He had a strange outfit on _(maybe for the Church)_ and had about three curls on his brown hair. Those eyes were the ones that caught Feliciano's attention. He stood up.

"I'm sorry that I took so long to come here, son! But I had so much work to do in the Southern temples, not to mention the fact that there's this Iniquum business running around…I had to-"

"I-I'm sorry, but…I'm not Lovino…"

"No? Oh, that's weird…" He turned his head. "You look exactly like my son…oh, but his eyes are green, not gold like yours!"

"Gold eyes…?"

Feliciano froze in shock. The man in front of him seemed old enough, and he had seen him before…that would mean that…this man was…

"…sir…did you have…twin boys?"

The man paused.

"…how did you know that?" The man stepped forward. "Wait…you look so much like Lovino, but…you're not him…that would mean-"

"…_**father…?"**_

They both ran into each other's arms, sobbing openly about their reunion after so many years. Ludwig stayed back, trying not to interfere with the father / son moment, only smiling as his father turned to him.

"Oooh~! You caught yourself quite the looker!"

**(O-O)"**

"I approve, Feliciano! I approve~!"

"_**F-father!"**_ Feliciano blushed. "R-really…"

"No worries, dear son! I don't have any objections-"

"_**WILL YOU PLEASE-!"**_ Ludwig cleared his throat. "Sorry…are you looking for Lovino?"

"You two have seen him! Fantastic!" He clapped. "Where is he?"

"He's home with me~!" Feliciano chirped. "Follow me!"

Nonetheless, when Lovino was rudely awakened by his idiotic father, the first reaction he had was to punch him in the face. Then he turned around and punched Ludwig in the stomach. Bear in mind that Ludwig has hard abs and he ended up hurting himself in the process.

Smooth, Lovino. Smooth.

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**By the way, in case no one ever figured it out, Feliciano's father is the Roman Empire. And by the way, I think I have less than three chapters left to update~ :D**

**I think. Not really sure. Oh well. So vote for the lemon pie!**


	31. Romulus Vargas and His Son

**Congratu-freaking-lations! We're getting toward the end of the fanfic! I KNOW! The end of it! **_**THE END OF IT!**_** I don't know when that will be…but it's close…really close…I can feel it…**

**And guess what? WE HAVE OFFICIALLY SURPASSED THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS FOR "HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE"! I feel happy already!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Theme Cheat – Old Man – Regret" by RomaHeta=/**

"My goodness…so that is how you lived."

"Yes. My, uh…_Vitula_ gave me my life back. Veneziano gave it to me when I was in the ocean and he became me…" Feliciano turned away. "So in a sense…I'm actually not your son Feliciano…"

"Oh, nonsense~! You're my son no matter what!" His father began to pet his head. "You have my eyes and hair as well! No other Vargas has something quite like that!"

"…t-thank you, father." He blushed. "But do you see me any different because…?"

"You're the vessel of the Sigillato Attraversa?" His father smiled. "Of course not! You're still my son no matt what! Oh my, if only your mother was here to join us~"

"Papa, we both met up with her while we were wandering the northern regions of the continent." Lovino spat. "She already knows."

"Oh~! That makes me happy, knowing that she's still alive and happy back at home!" He chirped, sounding exactly like Feliciano. "I should go back to her right now and shower her with all the love that she can handle~!"

"Then _**go**_, dammit!" Lovino growled. "You're so damn annoying."

"Oh, but I've barely seen your twin brother for so long! I want to teach him everything about life and its wonders~!" His father clung toward his son. "Now son, I want to teach you one important lesson that I believe you're going to need in the future!"

"Ve~? What is it?"

"Well, first you should know everything about showing your love to others!" He stated. "Let me start by telling you the best position that you should be lying down on before you and the other one start rolling around in the sheets!"

"Ve~? What do you mean?"

_***freeze***_

"Oh? You rather take control, huh? You're such a strong young man!" He chirped. "Well then, I should teach you some good hip exercises-"

_***death death death DESTRUCTION***_

"Ve~~~~! W-what happened?"

"Nothing, dear brother, nothing…"

"Yes, Feliciano…it's absolutely nothing." Ludwig cracked his knuckles. "He's get extremely _tired_…that's all."

"Ve~?"

**/="Cloud Smiles" by Final Fantasy VI=/**

The next morning, Feliciano woke up and saw that Ludwig had left the house and that Lovino was cooking with his father. He hid behind the door of the bathroom _(which was still open for some reason)_ and saw the father and son arguing about something _(more Lovino than the father)_.

"Why, good morning Feliciano!"

He screamed in a jump and turned around, surprised to see that it was his father. He darted his head back to the kitchen and saw that Lovino was darting his head around, wondering where the hell his father had went. Feliciano couldn't help but shiver.

"Ve~~~g-g-g-g-good morning…!" He panicked. "I-I didn't see you there!"

"Good morning, my son~!" He chirped. "Nice to see that you're still awake and among us!"

"F-father…Veneziano isn't going to hurt me anymore…" He insisted. "I thought I told you that."

_**[He's a nutcase…]**_

_H-he's my father, after all._

_**[I can see where you got the majority of your personality from…I somewhat wish that you had a father that was more…human…]**_

_Ve~? But he's perfectly OK to me!_

_**[…fine…]**_

"I heard from Lovino that you are actually running a guild all by yourself! Is that true?"

"Y-yes, it's true. I'm the leader, and one my friends is my second-in-command." Feliciano smiled. "Lovi-kun here is one of my best-"

"_**IT'S LOVINO!"**_

"Eh? But I love that name!" His father chirped. "Nice nickname, Lovi-kun!"

"I swear to god, for the last freaking time, _**IT'S LOVINO!"**_

"Whatever, Lovi-kun~!" He turned to Feliciano. "Is it possible for me to see this guild of yours?"

"Ve~~~of course you can!" He turned around. "After breakfast, of course."

**/="Aqua's Luck Charms" by Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep=/**

After breakfast, the three of them walked toward the guild building. The door slowly opened up, and Raivis walked out to meet face-to-face with the man in front of him. He was pretty tall compared to the poor blond, so he immediately started shaking in shock.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-h-hi there…" He gasped. "A-are you here to request our assistance?"

"No, I'm just here to see the view with my sons here~!" He chirped.

"Eh? Oh-!" He turned his head. "Feliciano, Lovino…this is your father?"

"Unfortunately." Lovino sighed. "This is Romulus Vargas…my father."

"Aw…you've actually used my full name!" He chirped. "I feel so happy right now!"

"Shut the hell up, you bastard."

"Ve~~~~be nice to father, Lovi-kun…"

"_**IT'S LOVINO!"**_

Raivis laughed a bit as they allowed him to enter the building. Húdié Mei and Matthew were making breakfast for the others _(meaning BEST PANCAKES IN THE WORLD!)_, and when they entered the room Magnus and Alfred were chanting for food.

Wait a minute…

"_**WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE DAMN CHURCH BASTARDS DOING IN HERE?"**_

"Matthew's cooking today~!" Alfred chirped. "He makes the best pancakes in the world~!"

"_That didn't mean that you had to drag us along…"_ Arthur mumbled.

"Oh, my!" Antonio stood up. "It's my beautiful tomato, Lovi-kun!"

"_**IT'S LOVINO, YOU JACKASS! AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!"**_

"Aw, Lovi-kun…"

"_**IT'S **__**LOVINO!**__**"**_

"Ahahahaha…so you're lucky in love like your brother is, eh?"

"**SHUT UP, dad!"**

Feliciano couldn't help but laugh as a three-way argument started running on between the poor boys. Suddenly, he felt his heart jump and flop over in his chest. He jumped in the air with a smile on his face as he dashed out of the guild and slowly opened the door. Just outside was a familiar blond figure, a few feet away from opening the door.

"Ve~~~~good morning, Ludwig…"

"Um…" His face was red, but he smiled anyway. "Good morning to you too."

They both stared at each other for a few minutes before Ludwig's _Vitula _throbbed. He held his shoulders as it began to shine a bright brown and backed up, making Feliciano panic and walk forward with a hand out to him. Ludwig took his hand.

"W-what's going on, Ludwig?"

"I…I don't know." He answered. "I-"

He was suddenly launched in the air, leaving Feliciano screaming. Everyone dashed out of the building just as they saw the last of a green blur go straight up into the sky. Suddenly, there was a bright red shine where he had disappeared into.

***Having fun there, I see…***

"Madre…" Feliciano gasped.

***Ludwig and I are one and the same. His power is all I need to take this planet. If you want him back…find me.***

"What a whore!" Magnus spat. "What the hell is up with bad guys and hostages, anyway?"

"Well, at least they were creative and used a man this time." Yïngguó Shi stated.

"Feliciano…" Alfred looked at him. "Can you find where he went?"

"…"

"Feliciano?"

_**[I already have.]**_ He turned around. _**[I have to go.]**_

"You're not leaving us this time around, Veneziano." Yong Soo grabbed his shoulder. "We're a guild, remember? We're all in this together!"

_**[There isn't much you can do, but…]**_ Veneziano lifted up a hand. _**[If you're coming, get ready now.]**_

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

**..**

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**OK, there's going to be a little more than three chapters. Hope you guys aren't going insane from stress. By the way, please keep continuing on voting for lemon pie or not. Majority rules, you know~! **_**(By the way, I accept anonymous reviews, so if you don't have an account, you can still vote!)**_


	32. Romeo and Juliet

**We're spiraling down to the ending, boys and girls! Ready to see the final dungeon and the final boss? Hope you are, cause this is the beginning of the end~!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Omoide no Naka Ni" by D. Gray Man=/**

Everyone ran back into the guild to prepare for their trip above. Veneziano waited calmly in the lobby, waiting for the others to come around with their supplies and their strongest weapons. In the end, he knew that he was going to have to fight alone anyway.

"So you're the Sigillato Attraversa…"

He turned his head to see Romulus standing next to him, a sword in one hand and a shield on the other. He blinked in surprise.

_**[That is me. You must be Feliciano's father.]**_

"I'm happy to see that you know that." He stated, his voice serious. "My son has given me nothing but praise for you, despite everything that you did to him."

_**[I've heard. And I can't help but wonder why…]**_ Veneziano looked up. _**[Even though he's made to shape himself to other people's thoughts, I knew that he was given the ability to argue his point. Your other son must've given it to him…]**_

"That's the ability to forgive, Veneziano. He got it from his mother." Romulus grinned. "It's in the Vargas blood."

_**[The Vargas blood…]**_ He turned to him. _**[Now I remember you. Romulus Vargas, deemed the best warrior the Church has in stock…and the one who unearthed the Creation Project.]**_

"You know me well, Veneziano." He looked out the door. "I'm glad to know that the two children that I saved from that factory survived into adulthood."

_**[Would you do it all over again if you knew that one of them was the Iniquum?]**_

"Of course~! One of them is in love with my dear son, you know :D"

_**[Your son is right…you are an idiot.]**_ Veneziano shook his head. _**[Everyone's ready. Let's go.]**_

**/=+=/**

The first thing Ludwig noticed was that his eyelids were being horribly burned by heat. He turned his head and opened his eyes, noticing that he was on a hard marble surface surrounded by tall pillars and a bright blue sky. His jacket had been unzipped, his _Vitula_ shining through his black shirt.

"You're awake, Heilrich."

Ludwig looked up and noticed that Madre was standing a few feet from behind him, staring out into the horizon. He slowly sat up and tried his best to deactivate his power, surprised to see that it was still active. He couldn't control it anymore.

"Don't worry, Heilrich. That diseased ability of yours will no longer take over your body. It's under my control now…" She smiled. "That is my power, after all."

"…Pangaea…" He blinked in surprise. He wanted to say _'Madre'_. "You're the Iniquum…"

"…If that's what you call me…"

"Then why am I here…?"

"Because, Heilrich…" She smiled. "I'm not the only Iniquum…"

**/="Nunnally" by Code Geass=/**

With Ivan and Natalya's help, Veneziano was able to get the whole guild _(and some hitchhikers…mainly Chikyuu)_ toward Madre's location. It turned out that she was located in a white temple hovering over the sky, shining brilliantly as they landed in a platform in front of the doorway.

"I know I'm going to jinx it by asking this, but…" Yïngguó Shi blinked. "What is up with ultimate bad guys and hovering fortresses that always have an unguarded entrance?"

"Nevermind that for a minute…" Lovino rolled his eyes. "Why do bad guys always need big fortresses for?"

"Because it makes them scream **'BAD GUY'** status?" Alfred grinned. "Making us with **'EPIC HERO'** status!"

"Awesome." Seyel sighed. "OK, I'm going to go with another cliché here: why do good guys always seem to talk before they enter the ultimate evil fortress?"

"Good point." Alfred pointed out. "OK, let's-"

"_The door's unlocked, Veneziano!"_ Matthew called out to them.

"You say something? I can't hear you!" Magnus called to him.

"He's saying that the clichéd door to the clichéd fortress is oddly unlocked." Natalya sighed. "Making our job easier."

"Well then~!" Romulus turned to Veneziano. "Let's not waste time."

_Yes, Veneziano…_ He heard Feliciano mutter, a wave of worry coming from him. _Let's not waste time…_

**/="Relief" by Pandora Hearts=/**

Just like any other clichéd temple would be, the area was filled with monsters. As Veneziano dashed through the area to find the door to the upper levels, he saw the whole guild attacking all the monsters that were attacking them. He was extremely impressed with Yïngguó Shi, who had been holding all the men in the room and started using their abilities in the most random occasions.

_I thought you knew his Vitula, Veneziano!_ Feliciano said, confused. _You gave it to him!_

_**[I know, Feliciano…it's just that I never saw him use his power so sparingly in such a young age before…]**_ He grinned. _**[It justifies people like Romulus still be alive.]**_

Feliciano laughed as Veneziano jumped in the air and reflected an attack away from Seyel. Once the monster was off its feet, Seyel grabbed her pole and stabbed it right through its heart. She pulled it out just as a hooded Matthew drop kicked it straight into the ground.

_**[So humans can still handle themselves without my blessing…]**_

"Well, I had to work for this!" She chirped. "I couldn't just sit back and let Matthew do all the work."

Veneziano stared at her as the whole group dashed up the stairs toward the second level. He couldn't help but stare at her fragility, and the hidden strength that was inside her eyes.

_**[You're the first woman that I've seen that does physical work.]**_

"You have to catch up to modern life, Veneziano. It's common nowadays!" She answered.

_**[But by the look in your eyes, you didn't want to do it at first…]**_

She sighed.

"I met Matthew a long time ago. I don't remember exactly when, but I remember that it was at the Oceanside. He was so lost and couldn't control his invisibility effect, his brother was unable to find him." Seyel chuckled. "It was so weird that I was the only person who could see him while it was still invisible, and so I made it my duty to protect him until he found his brother. And in that sense, Alfred was too dumb enough to figure that up."

_**[He is.]**_

"This went to that, and in the end I was where I am right now." She smiled. "Just a small story…nothing compared to yours."

_**[If you think about it, had I not interfered, Feliciano's story would be 'small' as well.]**_

Seyel could only nod in understanding.

**/=[Some angsty silence for you, my dear reader~ :D]=/**

_Veneziano…_

_**[What is it, Feliciano?]**_

_I…I want to see Ludwig when we find him. Is it OK if I take control until we find him…?_

_**[…I hold no objection to that. As long as you don't do anything reckless like fighting the Iniquum on your own…]**_

_I won't…I just want to make sure he's all right…_

The pain in his heart was the only thing that made Veneziano understand Feliciano's anxiety, and quickly gave him his body back. No one seemed to notice the difference, seeing as how they were too busy running up the stairs to find Madre. Soon enough, they were at the top.

"We're on final level off the boss, guys!" Magnus grinned.

"L-look!" Raivis gasped. "It's Madre!"

"And Ludwig, too!" Húdié Mei gasped.

Just that name made Feliciano's heart flutter. He stepped forward for two steps before he paused as Ludwig turned toward him. His eyes, an already semi-dead blue, were now a dead gray. His _Vitula_ was shining on his shoulders, spreading down to his arms and fingertips like a harsh disease. He couldn't help but get scared at the total change in his face.

"…_Lud…?"_

His hand lifted up, and a huge panel of marble erupted in front of them. Francis and Gilbert quickly pulled Feliciano back, the poor man still in shock. As the marble floor dropped, Ludwig's hand was still up.

"Hey, dude!" Gilbert lifted him up to his feet. "Snap out of it!"

"…Feliciano…?" Francis blinked. "Are you all right?"

"…Ludwig?"

"Don't worry, Feliciano…he's perfectly fine."

They looked up to see that Madre was walking right next to him, her_ Vitula_ shining all over her skin. Ludwig made no move when she touched his sleeve and her wings unfolded on her back, instead moving his head to see her move.

"What did you do to him?" Romulus blinked.

"I did nothing except show him his destiny." Madre chuckled. "Remember, I'm not the only one who survived the Creation Project."

"W-what…?" Feliciano shivered. "W-what are you talking about…?"

"I'm saying that…I'm not the only Iniquum in existence." She grinned. "So in order to save the world…you're going to have to fight the both of us."

…_no…no I can't do this…no!_

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

_***braces herself for massive fangirl rants***_


	33. Arrow of the Red String

_***dead from all the fangirl rants***_

…

**Rizal****- Well, so much for ending this…**

**Liara****- I got it, I got it…thank goodness that Mitsuki loves leaving her notes around…**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Aka Ikutsu Nise" by Umineko no Naku Koro Ni=/**

_**[Feliciano…]**_

_No! No, I-I can't do it…I can't fight him…!_

_**[Listen to me…we have to do this…]**_

_But…this is Ludwig…!_

Feliciano dropped to his knees and began to sob, his heart breaking. Everyone else was frozen there in shock, unable to collect the fact that one of their closest friends is in fact one half of the Iniquum. A flash echoed later, and Veneziano lifted himself to his feet.

_**[I'm sorry, Feliciano…I really am.]**_ He stated. _**[But sometimes you have to give up what is best to protect what else you hold dear…]**_

"Ah, and here's the Sigillato Attraversa in all his glory!" Madre chuckled. "Can you handle fighting the both of us with your human aide holding you back…?"

_**[I can do just that…don't think you can use a hostage to hold me back…]**_

"…Veneziano…" Emil stepped forward. "Is there really no other way?"

_**[…there is no other way.]**_ He stated. _**[I'll have to do this…]**_

"No, you're not doing all the work." Yong Soo stated. "We're going to weaken Madre for you so you can get in there. But we're not killing Ludwig, da ze!"

Veneziano, feeling the closeness of the guild, slowly nodded as they backed up to attack Madre. Ludwig lifted his hand up in the air as more bricks started to levitate toward them. Magnus and Alfred started destroying all of them as Húdié Mei and Gilbert charged toward Madre. Gilbert jumped over everyone's head as he winked toward Madre.

"I hope you're ready for the innate awesomeness that is GILBERT!" He smashed his palms together. _**"Strahl von Überwältigenden Verhältnissen!"**_

"Keep that beam steady, Gilbert! I'm fusing them together!" Húdié Mei's wrists began to glow. **"****風龍！****"**

The wind began to blow around Gilbert's beam as it charged toward Madre. All she had to do was smile and lift her finger up toward the beam, her arm and forehead glowing a strange red and orange color.

"Отражение."

The beam literally separated when it touched her finger, making two huge craters in the areas next to her. As the smoke cleared away, she saw the images of Berwald and Matthew charging toward her with their weapons in tow. Matthew lifted his hand up in the air as the wind blew his hood back over his face. Berwald lifted his right hand in the air.

"_**Fyrdubbla Is Likkista!"**_

"_**Poing d'érable!"**_

Four ice blocks rose up from the ground and surrounded Madre's body and wings. Matthew flipped over Berwald's figure and punched straight through the ice, shattering the whole coffin into shining pieces of clear glass. It was then that he realized that he broke a shadow of herself.

"ψυχο βόμβα."

She exploded between them, throwing the two of them off their feet. As Madre flew back down to the ground, Ludwig jumped to her side as her wings stretched around to cover his figure. Veneziano stared at him with a blank look as she began to glow.

"_Verspreid mijn geschenk ..."_

Her wings spread open, levitating in the air and revealing that Ludwig's _Vitula_ was shining brightly on his shoulders, reaching down his arms and fingers and all over his cheeks. Everyone stood there in shock as his eyes opened to reveal that his eyes had turned a strange shade of gold, the same as Madre's eye color.

"Try fighting him now!" She chirped. "Then you can get to me!"

Yïngguó Shi touched Raivis's neck as he and Magnus charged toward Ludwig with their _Vitula_ glowing brightly, leaving streams of light as they ran toward Ludwig in his possessed pose, looking dead at the rest of them.

"_**Regering af Kongerne!"**_

"**龍捲風的神。****"**

Magnus's poleaxe started spinning in the air, creating an electric whirlwind. Yïngguó Shi took a deep breath as his _Vitula_ started to glow. As Magnus threw the poleaxe, Yïngguó Shi blew a huge tornado that fused with the poleaxe, making it go faster and faster. When it passed Ivan, he spun next to it with his _Vitula_ glowing.

"**Благословение****Подсолнухи****.****"**

Sunflower petals rained on the spinning poleaxe, making it spin faster with a yellow glow. It was then that it crashed onto Ludwig, creating a huge cloud _(of course, since that's all it does)_. Before the dust even began to clear up, Alfred and Natalya ran around him, knives and gun in hand.

"Sorry, Ludwig…but we have to do this! Please forgive us!" Alfred aimed his gun. _**"Power Shot: Fifty Stars!"**_

"_**Тысяча**____**лёзаў**____**болю**__**.**__**"**_

They started shooting and throwing blades into the cloud, making sure that he didn't know what was coming. Once the dust finally settled, it was revealed that there was a huge barrier of light around Ludwig, his hand holding onto Magnus's poleaxe. It was then that Veneziano realized that Ludwig's other _Vitula _was glowing. The blond looked back at Magnus.

"I believe this is yours." Ludwig's other _Vitula_ shone as it transferred a huge beam of light into the poleaxe. _**"Heilige Schneckenwindung!"**_

He threw the poleaxe back toward Magnus at blinding speed. The black-coated man was about to dodge it when Yong Soo jumped in front of him with a stiff bamboo pole in his hands, a grin on his face.

"**두****번째****-****명령****반사****, ****다****'****제****에****!****"**

Yong Soo reflected the poleaxe out of the way, allowing Magnus to quickly catch it in the air. The boy turned his head to see Ludwig right in front of his face, ready to attack. They started duking it out one by one until Ludwig did one huge roundhouse kick to the face, sending the man flying across the room.

"_**Viña**____**del amortiguador!**__**"**_

Vines shot up from the ground, catching Yong Soo before he flew out of the stage. Yong Soo slowly moved onto a standing position as Arthur and Tino ran to his side, ready to heal him, when he lifted a hand up to the both of them with a smile on his face.

"For some reason…that was a weak attack, da ze." He grinned. "I'm fine, just a bit shaken."

**/="Parting Song" by Pandora Hearts=/**

Relieved that he was OK, Veneziano and Ludwig accidentally made eye contact, and he couldn't help but notice that Ludwig's other _Vitula _was shining brilliantly, counteracting the orange glow of his shoulders. He nodded and closed his eyes, a hand to his head.

_**[Feliciano, I need you to talk to him.]**_

_Ve~~~? W-what are you talking about…?_

_**[There might be a chance to save him…but only if this works. And you'll have to fight him to do so…]**_

Feliciano was about to object when he realized that he was given access to his body. He looked up in shock to see Ludwig charging toward him, punching all the way. Feliciano was forced to dodge, unable to bring himself to raise a hand against him.

"Ve~~~~~! No, no! Ludwig, don't you know who I am?" He sobbed as he kept dodging his kicks and punches. "Stop this! Stop this, please!"

He found his back against the wall, unable to move. Ludwig hovered over him with a look of bloodlust in his eyes, his _Vitula_ shining and nearly blinding him. Feliciano panicked and shot his hands in front of him, sobbing all the way with his eyes closed.

"_**La freccia della Cordicella Rossa!"**_

It was then that he realized that Ludwig was no longer moving toward him. Feliciano's eyes opened slowly to see that there was a red blade shaped like an arrow coming out of his palms, going right through Ludwig's chest in the exact place that Veneziano had stabbed him. Blood was coming out of his chest and mouth.

"_L-Ludwig…?"_

The blond looked up toward him with a smile on his face, and he saw the bright baby blue that he had come to love and cherish.

"…_thank you…"_

He collapsed into his arms as he fell to his knees, sobbing on his shoulder the entire time.

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[LANGUAGE]=/**

[Strahl von Überwältigenden Verhältnissen!] **GERMAN**– _Ray of Awesome Proportions_ (Anyone miss this from "Holy Roman Empire"?)

[風龍！] _**(F**__**ē**__**ng lóng!) **_**TRADITIONAL CHINESE-** _Wind Dragon!_

[Отражение] _**(Otrazhenie)**_ **RUSSIAN-** _Reflect_

[Fyrdubbla Is Likkista] **SWEDISH-** _Quadruple Ice Coffin_

[Poing d'érable] **FRENCH**– _Maple Fist_

[ψυχο βόμβα] **GREEK-** _Psycho Bomb_

["Verspreid mijn geschenk ..."] **DUTCH- **_**"**__Let my gift spread…"_

[Regering af Kongerne!] **DANISH- **_Reign of the Kings!_

[龍捲風的神。] _**(Lóngju**__**ǎ**__**nf**__**ē**__**ng de shén.)**_ **TRADITIONAL CHINESE-** _Tornado of the Gods_

[Благословение Подсолнухи.] _**(Blagoslovenie Podsolnuhi.)**_ **RUSSIAN-** _Blessing of the Sunflowers_

[Тысяча лёзаў болю.] _**(Tysia**_

_**a lioza**__**ŭ**__** boliu) **_**BELARUSIAN- **_Thousand Blades of Pain_

[Heilige Schneckenwindung!] **GERMAN-**_ Holy Spiral!_

[두 번째 - 명령 반사, 다 '제에!] _**(du beonjjae - myeonglyeong bansa, da 'jee!)**_ **KOREAN- **_Second-in-command Reflection, da ze!_

[Viña del amortiguador] **SPANISH- **_Vine Cushion_

[La freccia della Cordicella Rossa!] **ITALIAN-** _Arrow of the Red String!_

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

_***revived***_

**OK, keep voting for that lemon pie, kiddies! And hope you didn't mind all those foreign terms in there!**

_***rebraces herself***_


	34. It Was Supposed to be Me

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Battle Theme (Summoned Beast)" by Final Fantasy X=/**

"No…" Gilbert paused. "D-don't tell me we were stalling for _**nothing!**_ That's just plain unawesome!"

"_Feliciano…"_

Matthew unconsciously held Seyel close to him as Feliciano continued to sob on the shoulder of the man that he had struck down himself. He was mumbling something to himself as he felt his body slowly got colder and colder, his head shaking over and over.

"_No, no, no, no, no…this isn't right…this isn't supposed to be happening…"_ He sobbed. _"Veneziano told me that I was the one who was going to die…not you…no, it can't be you…"_

Ludwig wasn't moving, making Feliciano cry even more. His body was now extremely cold and his _Vitula _was completely gone from his shoulders.

"_Wake up, Ludwig…please wake up…don't go, please…"_

"Wow, Feliciano. Don't you know how death works?"

Everyone looked up to see Madre hovering over them. Instead of a sneer or a rub-it-in-your-face smirk, she actually looked a bit surprised, like she found it extremely ironic. She levitated toward the ground, the interested look still on her face.

"You would've thought that after living with the humans for so long, that was at least one of the big things you'd catch." She tilted her head in a semi-mocking matter. "Oh well, so much for that. Makes getting rid of him so much easier, right?"

"_Get…rid of him…?"_ Feliciano spat. _"You don't even __**care…?"**_

"I do care, but…you're the one that killed him, Feliciano." She stated. "Unless you want to join him. Then I have no complaints doing it!"

She spun her right arm around, a ring of fire appearing and growing. With a grin, she threw it straight at Feliciano. He froze, holding Ludwig's body and muttering a spell that would summon one of his creations. Suddenly a huge block of earth shot up and blocked the fire. Feliciano turned his head and gasped as Ludwig began to move into a sitting position.

"L-Ludwig…?" He gasped.

His eyes were dead and looking straight at Madre, the wound still open in his chest. Feliciano unconsciously looked over his shoulder and noticed that Toris' _Vitula_ was glowing. He cringed: he was the one that saved his life…not Ludwig. Toris turned his head to Tino.

"Can you close Ludwig's wound, Tino?" He asked. "He's harder to control with open wounds."

"Of course. Give me a minute." He ran to Ludwig. _**"**__**Sulje**__**haavat.**__**"**_

Tino's _Vitula_ glowed as Ludwig's wound began to close and the blood was gone. Feliciano watched as the shell of Ludwig stood up, his _Vitula_ glowing on his shoulders and chest. He couldn't help but shed a tear as he stood up next to him.

"So even dead, he continues to fight me." Madre laughed. "OK, I have to admit: that is creative. The only thing I'll have to ask is if he'll last!"

"He'll last longer than you!" Toris spat. "Ludwig would fight you to the death and back again!"

"Dammit! I wanted to kill the damn potato bastard!" Lovino stomped next to Ludwig. "That's it. I may be nice to women, but you're getting an extra special ass-kicking just for getting to him first!"

"No, no, no! This won't do! I will not let my sons fight in a final war without me!" Romulus jumped in front of them. "Daddy's here, boys!"

"_**You're a jackass, dad!"**_ Lovino spat. "You're not even a _Gekozen!"_

"Oh, my dear son…" A _Vitula_ was shining on his ears. "You're not even close."

Lovino paused as he saw Madre vanish. Romulus looked around, his _Vitula_ glowing, until he turned his head and blocked a huge flaring blade with his own. Madre's face was right in front of his as well, freaking everyone out.

"Wow…no wonder they call you the strongest man of the Church." She cackled, her eyes wide with excitement. "This is getting to be interesting!"

"Madre…" Romulus's face was serious. "Where was that crying young girl that just wanted to see the light outside the factories…?"

"She's changed, Romulus. She's changed." She jumped back. "Then again, don't we all?"

"Perhaps we do…"

Madre chuckled as her flame sword vanished from her hand and she blew away with the wind. Romulus turned his head around, trying his best to hear the wind blowing, and surprised to hear that there was nothing changing at all. She was up to something…

"Oi, douchebag! Behind you!" Lovino charged, his _Vitula _glowing on his legs. _**"Triplicare Punteggio della Mafia!"**_

He did a triple kick toward Madre _(while upside down, mind you)_, throwing her back. Lovino threw a grin as he jumped back and forth like a martial artist. What surprised Feliciano was that he was jumping back and forth like a martial artist _**in the air.**_

"Don't think that you're the only one here who knows how to levitate!" He grinned. "Hey, fratello! You want to help me kick her ass?"

Feliciano nodded as he pulled out a light from his bag, fusing it into his body. Instantly, he flew into the air as his image changed. His hair grew long with braids and covered by a white bonnet. Six wings flew out of his back and a dress sank out of his corset.

Wait a minute…

"What the hell, fratello? Since when did you draw our mother like _**that?"**_

"Ve~~~~I just wanted it like that!" He said. Saying it in a woman's voice clearly didn't help anyone.

"You know what? Whatever!" He darted his head toward Madre. "I hope you're ready to get your brains handed to you!"

"Only if you're up for it first!"

Feliciano couldn't help but turn his head back toward Ludwig, Toris staying behind just a couple of feet away. He swung his fingers up and the marble tiles shot up, allowing Ludwig to run up them like a staircase. Toris really knew what he was doing.

"Whoa!" Alfred gawked. "You can do that?"

"Ludwig can do that. It's part of the 55% of his power I can use…" Toris sighed. "But it's not enough…I need to concentrate all my effort to fight. I can't throw him enough tiles for him to jump over!"

"Leave that to us!" Alfred turned to Ivan and Natalya. "Yo! You two want to cooperate with a hero?"

"Not you." Ivan looked up. "But if it's to help the boss, then count me in."

"Fine…if Ivan is doing it."

Toris nodded as Lovino and Feliciano started a huge battle with Madre. There were streaks of light each time Feliciano's trident touched Madre's fingertips, and each time Lovino had to kick in for extra effect. Toris had a hard time making Ludwig keep up. It looked a little embarrassing, to say the least. At least the only one that was laughing was…oddly enough, Kiku.

Wait, Kiku?

Oh wait, he was here the whole time! Whoops!

Wait…he's not there anymore?

"OK, Madre! Be a good girl and _**stay down!"**_ Lovino screamed.

Madre flew out of the way as Lovino missed and bounced off an air bubble. Suddenly, she turned her head and saw Kiku teleport right behind her, blade in the air. She dodged it, making him teleport around her like an annoying wasp. He turned to Ludwig.

"Toris! I need you!"

"R-right! Alfred, send it up!"

Afred cracked his knuckles before punching the ground as hard as he could, a huge block of earth shooting straight up into the sky. Toris closed his eyes to concentrate and learn Ludwig's abilities as Kiku teleported around the column to stay afloat.

"_**Tausend Speere der Erde!"**_

"**サクラホタル：蝶の飛翔！****"**

Ludwig's hand moved up, making the huge block of earth turn into a thousand solid spears. They zoomed toward Madre at extreme speed, slashing through her wings. Right behind them was Kiku, soaring to her with blue butterfly wings and his blade glowing like they were fireflies. He sliced right through her, kicking her down toward the ground. Feliciano flew underneath her, trident ready.

"_This…is for Ludwig."_ He looked up. _**"Il della Santo Madre Finale Giudizio!"**_

He stabbed straight up through her spine, hearing the familiar crack of bone. He took deep breaths as he calmed down his rage, happy that he finally got revenge on her for what she did. It was finally over…wasn't it?

"Oh, I'm sorry…were you trying to do something to me?"

Feliciano paused as she pushed the trident right through her stomach, throwing him off balance. She straightened herself out and he could see the wound in her stomach heal up as if he did nothing. That's when he realized something: Veneziano said that he was the only one who could destroy the Iniquum.

_W-where's Veneziano? What's he __**waiting**__ for?_

Madre's face looked like that of an insane patient as she grabbed Feliciano's head. A force of light shone from her palm, throwing him away and sending him careening down toward the platform. Arthur turned his head around and threw his hand up.

"_**Hover and Cover!"**_

Feliciano stopped for half a second in the air until he crashed into the platform anyway. The dust cleared, revealing that he had fallen out of his merged form and that he had broken his shoulder. Tino needed to get to him, fast. Berwald ran with Tino when he realized that Madre was zooming at him in sonic speed.

"Hope you're ready to join your precious in the afterlife!"

Lovino and Kiku panicked before they zoomed as fast as they could to protect Feliciano. Kiku, with his teleportation, was the first one to his side. He started flipping his hands together to make as many signs as he could, closing his eyes.

"**光機能****...****日シールズ！****"**

The light started shining in front of her, trying to slow her down. She ended up crashing through all of them without so much of a second thought. Suddenly, Ludwig dropped through all of them. He was flying faster than all of them, his eyes suddenly bright with determination. Toris stopped in shock.

"T-this…?"

"What's wrong?" Húdié Mei turned to him.

"T-the connection…it's snapped…" Toris answered, his _Vitula_ no longer activated. "But…it doesn't make any sense…"

"What…?" Yïngguó Shi asked, a calm look on his face.

"…I didn't drop the connection…and I'm the only one who can…" Toris blinked. "Unless…"

Everyone looked up as Kiku tried his best to protect Feliciano. Once he realized that he couldn't save him, Feliciano pushed Kiku out of the way, cringing at his broken arm. He tried to stand up to move, only to realize that his leg had been broken as well. He couldn't move.

**/=[God Welcome the silence]=/**

_Veneziano…Veneziano!_ He panicked. _Where are you?_

_**[Calm yourself. Everything's going as planned…]**_

Feliciano couldn't help but panic as Madre approached him at super speed. Suddenly, he felt two strong arms hold onto him _(avoiding his broken arm and leg)_ and holding his head into his shoulder as a voice echoed into his ears.

"_Erheben Sie die Wände…"_

It was, in on itself, nothing more than a whisper. Yet it was a whisper that lifted his spirits. Feliciano looked up and saw as a huge wall shot up in front of her, blocking the sunlight and the view. He panicked and clung onto the man, feeling sudden warmth in his palm. The figure shifted again.

"_**Schützen Sie!"**_

The walls shot forward, and she was tossed away. Feliciano watched in shock as Madre careened into the ground and fell a few feet away. He could barely hear the surprised gasps coming out from everyone as Feliciano slowly looked up from his position to see familiar blue eyes look back at him.

"…_Feliciano…"_

"…Lud…wig…?"

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[LANGUAGE]=/**

**[**Sulje haavat**] FINNISH- **_Close wounds_

**[**Triplicare Punteggio della Mafia**] ITALIAN-** _Triple Score of the Mafia_

**[**Tausend Speere der Erde**] GERMAN-** _Thousand Spears of Earth_

**[**サクラホタル：蝶の飛翔**] **_**(Sakurahotaru: Ch**__**ō**__** no hish**__**ō**__**)**_** JAPANESE- **_Sakura Firefly: Flight of the Butterfly_

**[**Il della Santo Madre Finale Giudizio**] ITALIAN- **_The Holy Mother's Final Judgement_

**[**光機能...日シールズ！**] **_**(Hikari kin**__**ō**__**...-Bi sh**__**ī**__**ruzu!)**_** JAPANESE-** _Light Ability…Sun Shields!_

**[**Erheben Sie die Wände**] GERMAN- **_Raise the Walls_

**[**Schützen Sie!**] GERMAN- **_Protect!_

**/=[MEMO]=/**

**[ROMULUS]-** _Super sonic hearing. _Vitula- Ears

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**We're about…uh…two chapters to the ending? So keep votin' for that pie!**


	35. The Second Vessel

**OK, OK! We're going to get the cliché stuff out of the way! I'm going to finish the battle, geez! Relax! Hope you're still wishin' for them pies~ :D**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Fragments of a Dream" by Chrono Cross=/**

"Lud…wig?" He held his unbroken hand to his chest. "T-Toris, what are you…?"

"_It's not him…it's me."_ He smiled. _"Feliciano…it's me. I'm OK…"_

He stared at him with a blank look on his face before his eyes got wider and wider, to the point where the sun could literally shine golden in his pupils. With his only good arm he threw himself toward him, crying the entire time. Húdié Mei couldn't help but squeal. Tino quickly ran to his side, his palms glowing.

"_**Yhdistä Luu."**_ Tino looked up from his healing. "Ludwig…how did you survive that…?"

He didn't respond, only allowing his _Vitula_ to activate. The image was a lot different from before. The ones on his shoulder had literally merged with that on his chest, making the final product look like a chest plate or a tribal tattoo. Also, they were all glowing a bright blue and not a strange orange.

"E-eh…?" Feliciano held it in his palms. "Ludwig…how…?"

"…it's this." He answered. "Veneziano told me."

_**[I will tell you, Feliciano…but allow me to take over so I can tell everyone.]**_

…_All right…_

Feliciano blushed a little bit as he slowly stood up to give Ludwig the subtle hint of his change. But don't worry, the fact that he turned into his holy outfit was all the indication that he needed. Alfred couldn't help but jump at that sudden change. I wonder why.

_**[When I was fighting Ludwig back in the Northern Forests, I noticed something about him that I haven't seen before: a Vitula that was never activated. That in itself is physically impossible unless he was either killed or it had been sealed by someone with my powers. Since Madre was the Iniquum, I couldn't rule that out.]**_ Veneziano grinned. _**[And it was then that I remembered something…my original plan, really.]**_

"There was a Plan A?" Lovino froze. "Wait a minute! _**THIS WAS **__**PLAN B**__**?**_ What the hell?"

"This is actually interesting." Madre said, looking slightly amused. "What was Plan A?"

_**[I realized that he was the original. The one that I was supposed to accept.]**_ Veneziano stated. _**[If it hadn't been for him being accepted in the Creation Project, and if I had not found Feliciano in the ocean so long ago…Ludwig would've been my vessel.]**_

"**HOLY MOTHER OF PLOT TWISTS!"** Yes, this was Magnus. "Ludwig was the original choice?"

_**[Of course.]**_ Veneziano grinned, flipping his hair. _**[However, Feliciano proved to be the better choice. So no one has to worry about that plan.]**_

"Whoa…" Madre nodded, grinning. "That's cool."

_**[I know…that would also explain how he survived the Creation Project. For there were two reasons, really. First off, he was an original Gekozen instead of a human man and hence can handle that much pressure in his body. Secondly…the power that was given in the Creation Project was yours, wasn't it? Smart, really…trying to spread the Iniquum in thousands of people so that I would have to hunt each and every one of them.]**_

"Oh well…guess I was found out." She smiled, her wings spreading out. "I wasn't surprised, seeing as how you found that out."

"Of course! Since he's…like ultimate and stuff!" Alfred said, a little mad that someone took his hero status.

_**[But it's all going to end right here. You're the only part of the Iniquum left…meaning I can easily get rid of you…]**_

"Try me."

**/="Umineko no naku Koro Ni" by Umineko no Naku Koro Ni **_**(Yes, there's a song named that in the same anime)**_**=/**

They both flew in the air, weapons out, and started crashing into each other as hard as they could. Each contact shook the world, making everyone cling onto each other to keep from falling over. Of course Yong Soo failed and fell over, but not before dragging Raivis with him.

_**[**__**Archangeli**____**egestas**__**!**__**]**_

Veneziano's wings shot out into daggers, shooting toward Madre. She easily started dodging them, making him shoot even more. Madre grinned with each dodge, making no move to counterattack. It was then that Veneziano knew what she was trying to do.

"How much longer can your vessel handle your powers?" She chuckled. "Sooner or later, it'll kill him!"

_**[You're going to be dead before that happens…]**_ He lifted his hand out. _**[**__**Fidelium**____**sicam**__**!**__**]**_

A long sword shot out of his sleeve, and he charged toward Madre. She grinned before pulling a blade of fire out of her skin and began another charge. Halfway through the duel, Veneziano finally heard the screaming in his head. An image flashed in his mind, showing Feliciano writhing in pain from Veneziano's powers.

_**[Feliciano…]**_

_No…don't stop…you have to beat her…_ He begged. _Don't worry about me…you told me that I was going to die, right?_

Veneziano closed his eyes before continuing his assault. Madre took advantage of his worry, slashing his back open. He was sent spiraling a few feet away, looking up to see her charging right toward him with a murderous grin on her face. He lifted his blade up.

"_**Blattblock!"**_

A white wall appeared in front of him, blocking her attack. Veneziano turned his head to see that Ludwig had learned the basics of his new power, sporting wings and shooting up to join him. The Feliciano part of him gasped in shock, somewhat startling him.

_**[Ludwig…]**_

"I was supposed to be your vessel, right? That means I have the same power that you do." He said. "I won't be able to defeat her alone…but allow me to assist you."

"Mind if we both join as well?"

Veneziano turned his head to see that Ivan and Natalya had started to float toward his side. He couldn't help but smile at their determination. He turned back to Madre, who seemed interested to battle all of them at the same time. She lifted her fire blade and fused with it, turning into a gigantic dragon.

"Hey, Madre! Guess what?" Yong Soo screamed from the ground. _**"DRAGONS ARE OVERRATED!"**_

"Are you ready, Veneziano…?" Ludwig turned to him.

_**[I'm ready.]**_

The four of them charged toward the dragon, who roared and started to burn everything in her path. Ivan flipped over most of the fire as he lifted his iron pipe and struck her hard. The skin was super hard, but was able to leave a small scratch. He grinned at the scratch, aiming toward it.

"Яд."

The scratch started to glow purple, sinking into the skin. The dragon spazzed out for a minute before realizing that she was poisoned, roaring and attacking him. He was sent back, looking up to see Natalya appearing with her knives and a murderous look on her face.

"Хуткая смерць."

She started throwing daggers after daggers, doing nothing much but annoying her. Madre started attacking both of them, throwing them off their feet a lot. She didn't even notice Ludwig flying on her back, lifting his hands up in front of him.

"Speer des Schicksals." He looked down. _**"Erzengel Reinigung!"**_

He stabbed the dragon in the back, making her cringe. The wound started to glow as Ludwig flew away from him, letting Veneziano float right in front of her. He closed his eyes, letting her writhe in pain, and saw that Feliciano was now at the verge of dying from the pain.

_**[This is it. It's over.]**_

_I'm…going to die after this…aren't I?_

_**[In your state…yes, you will.]**_

_If that is true…then good-bye, Veneziano…_

_**[Don't say that just yet…]**_ He looked up to Madre. _**[Ultranova.]**_

The dragon instantly blew up, a supernova shine and blinding everyone. Ludwig looked up, seeing that Madre was instantly gone. He smiled, happy to see that the fight was finally over, only to see Feliciano's robes vanish, revealing his ordinary outfit, and he started falling.

**/="Fragments of a Dream" by Chrono Cross=/**

He quickly caught him, levitating toward the ground. Once he landed, everyone started running toward them, shocked at Feliciano's fragile unmoving body. Most of them almost went to the verge of tears.

"T-that's my son…" Romulus sobbed. _**"That's my son!"**_

"…" Ludwig leaned in. _"Feliciano…"_

He gasped, his body shaking. Everyone froze as Feliciano's eyes slowly opened up and looked around, startled at the happy looks on everyone's faces.

"…_everyone…"_

"Yes! We ultimately won!" Alfred chirped. "With minimal death!"

"You know what that means?" Magnus grinned. _**"PARTYING!"**_

**/=[MENU]=/**

**/=[LANGUAGE]=/**

[Yhdistä Luu] **FINNISH- **_Connect Bone_

[Archangeli egestas] **LATIN-** _Curse of the Archangels_

[Fidelium sicam] **LATIN- **_Dagger of the Faithful_

[Blattblock] **GERMAN-** _Blade Block_

[Яд] _**(**__**Yad**__**) **_**RUSSIAN- **_Poison_

[Хуткая смерць.] _**(**__**Chutkaja smierć.**__**)**_ **BELARUSIAN- **_Quick Death_

[Speer des Schicksals.] **GERMAN- **_Spear of Destiny_

[Erzengel Reinigung!] **GERMAN- **_Archangel Purification!_

**/=SAVE YOUR GAME?=/**

**[YES] [NO]**

**SAVING…**

…

…

**SAVE COMPLETE. NOW RETRIEVING A MESSAGE FROM MITSUKI HORENAKE…**

**/=+=/**

**One more chapter~! By the way…you might want to still vote for the lemon pie. Just so you know :D**


	36. THE END and CREDITS

**Finally, the final chapter of the main story~! It's been so much fun keeping you guys on the edge of your seat. So all you guys want now is the partying, right? Right! Have fun~!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Kairi" by Kingdom Hearts II=/**

When they came back from the final battle, they came back to endless cheering. Feliciano found himself being touched by every single person in the city, all wanting to see the person who was born to be the vessel of the _Sigillato Attraversa_. He couldn't help but smile at the people who a long time ago was condemning him to be the same demon that he was fighting.

Once he was determined to be OK, everyone started to set up the entire city for all-day partying. Romulus left the city in order to pick up his mother to have her join the party _(since these were her sons)_, leaving the entire guild to set up the city for the party. Feliciano, being the guy we're all partying about, was told that he was going to rest back at home until most of his wounds are better.

He sat quietly on his couch, leaning back onto the cushions and closing his eyes. For the first time in his life, he was truly all right. He had nothing else to worry about anymore. He can finally live his life the way he wanted to. Finally, everything has come full circle.

_Thank god…everything is over…_ He smiled. _But this story has yet to be over…right, Veneziano?_

_**[Yet to be over.]**_

He felt a warm hand on his cheek, opening his eyes. He looked up and saw his mother smiling back at him, tears welling up in both their eyes. He quickly stood up and hugged her, happy that everything is finally over. Romulus stood at the side, smiling at the second reunion between mother and long lost son.

"I'm so proud of you, Feliciano…" She smiled. "You and Lovino. You two did wonderful…"

"Thank you, mother…" He answered with a sad smile. "I'm just…happy to see you again…"

"Ah, such a beautiful reunion…" Romulus chirped, like it was poetry in motion. "With these problems behind us, I can finally teach you everything that the world can teach you!"

"Ve~?" Feliciano blinked. "What can you teach me?"

"Well…the first one I believe you might need to know is how to hum~!"

"Hum…?" He hummed a small tune. "I-I know how to hum…"

"No, no, no! You must know how to hum properly!" Romulus grinned. "Proper humming is a perfect way to initiate a-"

_***KA-BOOOOOOOM***_

A few minutes of blinking later, Feliciano realized that his mother had properly beaten the ever-lasting heck out of her husband. _**HARD.**_ He couldn't help but shake and whimper at that look: her heel right into his back. After a few minutes, she wiped the hair from her eyes and smiled.

"Please don't mind your father, dear."

"Ve~~~~~~" _I-I guess that's where Lovino came from…_

A small knock echoed in the silence, and the door opened to reveal a familiar blond at the door. He looked at the body on the ground and the woman whose heel had sent him there. That's when he basically summed it up and slowly backed up from the door. She looked up and chirped.

"Ah, Ludwig~!" She stated. "Are you here for my son?"

"Um…" He blinked. He knew mothers were creepy when mad. "I-Is it safe to say yes?"

"Of course, of course!" She chirped. "Take my son! I hope you two have fun at this party!"

Ludwig and Feliciano looked at each other with semi-worried looks on their faces before he walked out of the house. Once the door was closed…they got the hell out of there.

**/="happiness of marionette" by Umineko no Naku Koro Ni=/**

Feliciano was surprised at the sudden build of the party. Wherever he turned, there were families throwing confetti and talking to each other as if this was a family reunion. He couldn't help but smile, when he finally felt eyes digging into the back of his head. There was only one answer for this…

"Your breasts belong to _**me**_, da ze!"

"_**NO.**__**"**_

Feliciano didn't feel anything, prompting him to turn around. Sure enough, Ludwig was holding onto the hanbok of Yong Soo, leaving the poor guy to flail toward his boobs. It was only the stare from Ivan that made him stop. That's when he realized that Ivan was standing right there. That scared him.

"Having fun, boss?" Ivan smiled.

"Ve~~~~a little bit." He chirped. "I'm so surprised that this is all for me, though…"

"You are the vessel, of course. Most likely the Church would revere you as a god." Yong Soo said in mid-spazz.

"But…I'm not a god…" Feliciano said.

"I know that." Ivan smiled. "You don't even know how to run a _**guild**_, so how would you be a god?"

-_-"

"Let's just have fun." Ludwig sighed. "Come on, Feliciano."

"Ve~~~~ :D"

**/=+=/**

They both wandered through the entire day playing the games that the city had set up. Feliciano found himself having so much fun catching frogs and throwing sacks of sand at targets. Once he found himself using his artistic talents to impress a couple of children. Ludwig couldn't help but stare at him the entire time, smiling as Feliciano gave one of them a small balloon. He was so innocent…

Feliciano turned back to Ludwig with a smile on his face, and he couldn't help but chuckle. He seemed to be at home with children. Maybe it was a motherly instinct?

"_**Oi! Don't go googly-eying my brother, you bastard!"**_

He took a long sigh as he turned his head and saw a rather red-faced and quite angry Lovino spitting back at him, shaking his finger like he had too much sugar in his blood. After a few minutes of staring at him, Ludwig just plopped his hand on top of his head with a long sigh.

"You can relax, Lovino. I was just watching him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." He answered.

"Bullcrap, you were googly-eying him! I know that look! You've been googly-eying him this entire time, haven't you? Goddammit, you bastard!"

"Aw…calm down Lovi-kun~! You're scaring the children."

"_**DAMMIT, it's **__**LOVINO**__** you tomato whore!"**_

Ludwig looked up and saw Antonio drop a hand on Lovino's back, making him turn his head and screamed so many profanities that the poor children had to get away from him. After a few minutes of just staring at them, Antonio looked up to Ludwig with that idiotic smile on his face.

"Are you with Lovino's fratello, Ludwig?"

"Um…yes, yes I-"

He turned his head and saw that Feliciano had gone from the group of children.

**/=[Silence…and you know what that means]=/**

Feliciano stared at the sunset, the crashing of the ocean echoing around him. He shook his head to prevent himself from crying and wiped what had strayed. By moving his hand away, he realized that he didn't wipe the tear from his eye and that it was still falling down his cheek.

_It's…it's happening, isn't it?_

_**[Yes…it's finally happening.]**_

…

_**[Wouldn't you rather be around everyone else? Be around people who trust you?]**_

_They're having the time of their lives, Veneziano…I don't want to ruin it for them…_

_**[…]**_

**/="Hallelujah" by Imogen Heap=/**

Ludwig walked down the dirt path that led toward the ocean. Emil said that he had seen him go that way, so he decided to meet him there. He knew that no one knew that part of the ocean, so it would leave him some time alone with Feliciano. Maybe there he can finally tell him…

He looked up from his thoughts and saw Feliciano staring into the sunset. From his distance, he looked like an angel floating over the water _(yes, it made him blush)_. He was about to call to him when he saw his right hand glow and pulse, part of it fading from existence. He froze, knowing from before what it meant.

"F-Feliciano!"

The brunette looked up. However, he didn't look straight at him. Instead, he was looking around as if it was a voice inside his head. He looked scared, even shivering. Part of his arm started to glow as well.

"Feliciano!"

Ludwig started walking toward him, making Feliciano panic at the sound of footsteps. Once he was right up next to him, he realized that Feliciano was still looking around. His arm was still glowing, prompting him to grab it and wring it up. Feliciano screamed in fear, shaking and unable to fight back.

"_Feliciano..it's me."_

"E-eh?" He blinked. "O-oh, Ludwig, I…I didn't see you…"

Ludwig looked at Feliciano's glowing hand, seeing it slip through his tight grasp. He stared at him in shock as Feliciano lowered his head in defeat. Quietly, he lifted up his hand and swung it over his eyes a couple of times. Feliciano made no reaction to any of them, only looking back up to him.

"You're blind…"

"…" He held his arms together.

"What's going on, Feliciano?"

"…I was never supposed to live past this day, Ludwig…" He said, his voice dangerously close to breaking. "This is it…it's over. I'm…I'm leaving-"

Ludwig reached out and grabbed whatever part of Feliciano he could hold in his arms. The brunette yelped in surprised, but made no move to resist him. He cried in his arms, feeling the warmth that the blond had to offer. Ludwig, on the other hand, cherished each and every single part that his hands could hold, feeling everything fade from existence. Soon, he heard more sobbing and realized that it was his own tears.

"_No…no, don't cry, Ludwig…I didn't want you to cry. You're supposed to be happy…"_

"_I can't be happy, Feliciano…not without you…"_

He gasped, before clinging onto his shirt and crying even more. What was worse was that he could no longer feel the tears anymore.

"_I don't want to die, Ludwig…I don't want to die…"_

"_You're not dying, Feliciano. I won't allow it."_ Ludwig whispered in his ears, his lips touching his forehead. _"You're staying, Feliciano…"_

Feliciano blinked in shock before allowing himself to sink in his arms. Ludwig looked down at him, seeing the poor young man cuddling and whimpering and wishing that he wouldn't leave. Slowly, he lifted up one of his hands and caressed his cheek _(happy to see that he could touch it)_, bringing his chin up to look at him.

"_Feliciano…"_

Slowly, he leaned in toward his lips, feeling Feliciano squirm himself closer toward him. He could feel the warmth in his breath, the shiver in his voice, the tip of his lips…

…yet all he came in contact with was the tips of his fingers.

**/="If I Was a Bird (Vocal)" by Code Geass =/**

Ludwig opened his eyes and looked up, seeing that the man he called Feliciano was gone and there were strands of light flying into the sunset. He lowered his arms as he allowed the tears to fall from his face, before realizing that there was something in his hand. He lifted it up, realizing that it was the cross that he had made him.

For the first time in his life…he openly wept.

…

…

…

**/=+=/**

**HETALIA: THE FANTASY STORY**

**[Based off of AXIS POWERS HETALIA and POKEMON MYSTERY DUNGEON: RED and BLUE]**

**Distributed by fanfiction. net**

**/=+=/**

**AXIS POWERS HETALIA created by [Hidekazu Himayura]**

**Anime credited by STUDIO DEEN**

**/=+=/**

**POKEMON created by [Satoshi Tajiri]**

**Anime credited by OLM, Inc.**

**Games credited by NINTENDO**

**/=+=/**

…

**Cast**

_**(in order of appearance)**_

**-Main characters are highlighted-**

…

_**(-NORTH ITALY as [Feliciano Vargas]-)**_

**SEYCHELESS as [Seyel Cheles]**

**TURKEY as [Sadiq Adnan]**

**CANADA as [Matthew Williams]**

**JAPAN as [Kiku Honda]**

**TAIWAN as [Húdié Mei]**

**HONG KONG as [Yïngguó Shi]**

_**(-GERMANY as [Ludwig]-)**_

**SOUTH KOREA as [Yong Soo Im]**

**PRUSSIA as [Gilbert Beilschmidt]**

**SOUTH ITALY as [Lovino Vargas]**

**AMERICA as [Alfred F. Jones]**

**ENGLAND / UNITED KINGDOM as [Arthur Kirkland]**

**LATVIA as [Raivis Galante]**

**ESTONIA as [Eduard von Bock]**

**LITHUANIA as [Toris Laurinaitis]**

**HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE as [Heilrich]**

**HUNGARY as [Elizabeta Hedervary]**

**AUSTRIA as [Roderich Edelstein]**

**RUSSIA as [Ivan Braginski]**

_**(-ROMAHETA NORTH ITALY as [Veneziano]-)**_

**LIETCHENSTEIN as [Erika Vogel]**

**SWITZERLAND as [Vash Zwiligi]**

**FRANCE as [Francis Bonnefoy]**

**SPAIN as [Antonio Hernandez Corriedo]**

_**(-MADRE TAKAYOMI as [Herself]-)**_

**CHINA as [Yao Wang]**

**NYOTALIA NORTH ITALY as [Felicia Vargas]**

**UKRAINE as [Irunya Braginski]**

**BELARUS as [Natalya Arlovskaya]**

**NORWAY as [Lukas Bondevik]**

**SWEDEN as [Berwald Oxenstierna]**

**FINLAND as [Tino Väinämöinen]**

**DENMARK as [Magnus Densen]**

**ICELAND as [Emil Steilsson]**

**ROMAN EMPIRE as [Romulus Vargas]**

**/=+=/**

**With Special Guest Appearances by:**

**Kiryll Nightroad**

**Astrid Rosen**

**/=+=/**

**Translations**

**GOOGLE TRANSLATE**

**/=+=/**

**Composers**

_**(Alphabetical Order)**_

…

**AR TONELICO****: [Gust Sound Team]**

**CHRONO CROSS****: [Yasunori Mitsuda]**

**CODE GEASS****: ****[****Kōtarō Nakagawa**** and ****Hitomi Kuroishi****]**

**D. GRAY MAN****: [Kaoru Wada]**

**FINAL FANTASY X****: [Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano]**

**FINAL FANTASY XIII****: [Masashi Hamauzu]**

**FRAGILE DREAMS****: [****Riei Saitō****]**

**HETALIA: AXIS POWERS****: [Conisch Arrangement]**

**ROMAHETA****: [Whoever created it…I thank you deeply]**

**KINGDOM HEARTS****: [Yoko Shimomura and Kaoru Wada]**

**PANDORA HEARTS****: [Yuki Kajiura]**

**PROFESSOR LAYTON****: [Tomohito Nishiura]**

**SHAMAN KING****: [Tamashii Kasanete]**

**PERSONA 4****: [Shoji Meguro]**

**TALES OF****: [Motoi Sakuraba]**

**TRAUMA TEAM****: [Atsushi Kitajoh, Ryota Koduka, and Shoji Meguro]**

**UMINEKO NO NAKU KORO NI****: [Akiko Shikata]**

**/=+=/**

**[****SPECIAL THANKS TO****]**

**Fanfiction. Net**

**Whoever invented Pocky :D**

**Hidekazu Himayura**

**All you readers!**

**/=+=/**

**Writer****: Mitsuki Horenake**

**/=+=/**

**[THANKS FOR READING!]**

…

…

…

**(Don't worry, I planned this and guess what? Two more post-game chapters :D)**

…

**[EPILOGUE]**

**/=LOADING…=/**


	37. EPILOGUE

**Yep, the post-game / epilogue! Sorry for using you all like that…I had to. Don't worry, keep voting for the lemon pie and you'll get it :D**

**Meanwhile, let's pay attention to the secondary characters and see how they're doing~!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Missing You ~ Namine" by Piano Collections: Kingdom Hearts II=/**

The news hit everyone hard.

It began when Ludwig walked back to the city with swollen eyes and wet cheeks. The first person to ask was Húdié Mei. Once she found out, she had to spread the news around. The party quickly descended into a state of mourning, especially when it came to his parents. Felicia fell into Romulus's arms in tears, all while holding Lovino's reluctant tears.

Ivan had to mourn as well, but he was the first one to state that the Hetalia guild had to get a new leader. Romulus was quick to take his son's place, wiping tears out of his eyes and calling it an honor. Yong Soo chirped openly and stated how he was honored himself to have his father help him.

Of course, since Romulus was such an important part of the Church the Hetalia guild was quick to gain a massive supporter. Soon it became the strongest third party supporter that the world had to offer, with thousands of branches stretching out through all reaches of the globe. Romulus and Yong Soo were the known leaders, and were never biased toward doing what was truly right in the people's eyes.

Still, despite being a major part of the world's issues, they never forgot their roots. Each and every single person who has seen or talked to him had remembered every detail of that man: his eyes, his smile, that odd curl, and the family that he had left behind. Soon, it became clear that those who had known him saw him in Lovino's eyes. After a month, it became almost mentally impossible to separate the twins apart. Lovino began to suffer from the burden of being compared to such standards, despite playing a part as well in the final battle.

Out of all who had suffered from his death, Ludwig was the one who was hit the hardest. Being a man of duty and honor, he had come the next day for work without missing a beat or allowing himself to mourn. He knew that he had to carry on, for his sake. This was something that he had worked on for all of his small life, and he had to take it seriously. He never once shed a tear openly since that day, but those who have spent the night with him could hear broken sobs and calls for the voices to quiet all through the night. Still, he forced himself on. He had to push himself on.

They all had to move on…

For him…

**/=TWO MONTHS AFTER THE DAY…=/**

"Whoa! It's you, da ze!"

Yong Soo and Ivan jumped up to see a familiar figure walking through the door. He whipped the ponytail toward the back of his head and looked at Yong Soo dead in the eyes.

"I heard that this is the guild Hetalia, am I correct aru?"

"Of course, of course!" He jumped, grabbing his boobs.

"_**AIYA!**_ S-stop doing that!" He spazzed. "What is up with you doing that, aru?"

"It's been so long since I grabbed them!" He chirped. "I'm happy now, da ze!"

"Of course, of course…" Wang Yao sighed, looking around. "The business is still running, I see…"

"You have heard of what had happened, da?" Ivan said, his _Vitula_ clearly shining.

"I have. I want to give you my sympathies, aru." Wang Yao said. "And that…well, I'm getting bored of living in seclusion."

"Are you…saying what I think you're saying?" Yong Soo's eyes lit up.

"Um…is it possible for me to join the-"

"_**YES YOU CAN, DA ZE!"**_

_*grope*_

**/=FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE DAY…=/**

"Elizabeta…you're shaking again…"

She turned herself around to see Roderich standing right behind her, a concerned look on his face. Ever since his death, he had spent more time talking to her instead of attending to his musical works and honing his abilities. She smiled at his concern before turning her head back to the flowers that were blooming in front of her.

"Don't the daisies look beautiful today?"

"Hm?" He turned to them. "Yes…yes they do. You've been caring for them all this time, haven't you?"

"They were his favorite. He never told anyone, not even me…but I have seen him stare at them for hours on end. He loved them."

"I see…"

There was a vast amount of silence, mainly with two of them looking at the daisies that were blooming beautifully in front of them. Sometimes, they couldn't help but see his face smiling back at them in the petals. The smile was sad, hiding itself as much as it could to keep his happy composure…

"He told me something back then…"

"He did?" Roderich looked up.

"Before he was chased out by the mob…he realized that he was in love with Ludwig…" Elizabeta wiped a tear from her eyes. "And when I asked him…Ludwig told me that he never said it. Not once."

"…how horrible." He looked down. "Knowing someone else had loved you only when it was too late."

"And it was worse in his case! You know why? Because he _**TRULY**_ loved him…" Elizabeta was sobbing. "It wasn't lust or admiration or even something small like puppy crushes…it was pure love. Ludwig was so lucky to have someone like him in his life…but he never said it…He never said it…"

"I know…and I don't want that to be us as well…"

She froze as Roderich grabbed her shoulders, his eyes stern and aimed right back at hers. Despite this stern glare, he had something else in there…worry? Fear? Dammed up tears?

"I don't want to live my life knowing that I could've said this to you. After him, I don't…I don't want you to be hurt either."

"Roderich…but…I'm a maid. I'm _your_ maid…"

"I don't care…" He smiled. "My father said that the time has come for me to choose a bride…and if she will allow me…I wish for you to be my wife…"

Elizabeta started shaking and sobbing before throwing herself into his arms.

**/=EIGHT MONTHS AFTER THE DAY…=/**

"I still can't believe that he's gone…"

"_Yeah, I know…"_

Matthew looked out into the sunset, hearing the waves crash around him. He looked to his side and saw Seyel stare at the ocean, throwing rocks in it and hearing the skipping of stones heading into the heart of the sea. Soon, she gave up on throwing the rocks and walked down the Oceanside before stopping suddenly. She looked up to the sunset.

"It was here when I first found him."

"_Hm?"_

"When I first saw him…he was lying face-up on the sand. He looked dead to me at first, but then he woke up. I wasn't paying attention, since I was so worried about you not showing up, but…" She blinked. "Now that I think about it…he looked so helpless and confused then…with nothing on him but the clothes on his back."

"_And to think…he came from the sea and was forced to return to it…"_ Matthew looked out to the blue of the waters. _"I heard from Ludwig that…he didn't want to leave…he wanted to stay…"_

"His last words were begging for him to stay…" Seyel closed her eyes and threw another rock. "That's just horrible. No one should have that as their last statement."

"_No…especially not him. He had a whole life to live…"_ Matthew's eyes narrowed. _"It's not surprising that was to be his wish…"_

"He must've been so scared…dying."

"_Maybe not…perhaps, since it is common for people to fear death, but…"_ He closed his eyes. _"He was in Ludwig's arms. I think, out of everything that he had to gain, that was all he had ever wished for…"_

"…to be in the arms of someone who cared for you…even the ones who are happily in love never had that final blessing…"

**/=SIXTEEN MONTHS AFTER THE DAY…=/**

"Dammit bastard, get the hell away from me!"

"Aw…come back here, Lovi-kun!"

"_**IT'S…**__**LOVINO!**__**"**_

Antonio paused. After more than a year of hearing that phrase over and over again, he finally noticed something that Lovino had hesitated in what he had said in that phrase. Lovino glared at him, his eyes oddly glazed with something shining…was it tears? Was he remembering…?

"Lovi-kun?"

"H-Haven't you heard me, dammit? It's…_Lovino…"_

It was then that he realized why he hesitated. He approached him and held his shoulders, making the poor boy pause and jump and try his best to get himself away from him. Unfortunately, Antonio's vines were holding him down. That was not weird whatsoever.

"You're still remembering your brother, aren't you?"

"S-shut up, bastard!" He squirmed even more. "No I don't…"

"I can't blame you, Lovino. He was the one who would always call you Lovi-kun…" Antonio smiled. "I miss him too, Lovino…I miss him too…"

"D-don't try to make me cry!" Lovino tried to run, stuck because of the damn vines. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It's fine, Lovino…you can cry." Antonio hugged him. "No one else is around."

Lovino stood there, feeling the arms reached out around his shoulders, before lowering his head on Antonio and started to cry openly. He felt like a dork, crying like that when he couldn't even do this in front of his father. What the hell made Antonio so different from everyone else?

What made him so different…?

**/=THIRTY-TWO MONTHS AFTER THE DAY…=/**

Ludwig stared out toward the view, feeling the night wind blowing through him and toward the city that he had been watching. The view used to be beautiful. The view used to be calming and relaxing. Now the view was nothing more than the only thing he had left of his past…this and the silver cross around his neck. The one that he had given him…

He held the cross in his hand, trying to imagine the warmth that he had felt when he had it last around his neck, when he had held it when he had gone. Yet all he could feel was the steel of the blade. He could no longer feel anything else that was his…he was gone…save for one…

_Ludwig?_

He closed his eyes again. It was the voice again…**his** voice again…

_Are you crying again…?_

He wiped his eye, feeling the loose tear on his finger.

_I…I never wanted this, Ludwig. I'm sorry, you never were supposed to know…_

He kept repeating this over and over again. Ludwig had known that. He had said it this whole time…ever since…

_Is there something that I can do to help you…? Anything I can do to get rid of the pain…?_

There was only one way.

Slowly, Ludwig turned around and saw nothing but the trees that stood behind him. The voice had vanished. That was the only way to make the already open hole in his heart close. That was the only way…even though he wanted nothing more than to hear his voice over again. He looked up toward the night sky.

"240 days…out of two and a half years…"

**/=+=/**

**Now THIS is how Pokemon Mystery Dungeon should've been! Bear in mind that I was listening to "I See the Light" in the ****Tangled**** soundtrack and it did NOT make typing this any easier. BELIEVE me. By the way, there are 960 days in thirty-two months. Hearing a voice for 240 of them on random intervals must really suck for Ludwig. Plus, the daisy is the national Italian flower, just so you know~ :D**

**So…the last one is truly the last episode of the Fantasy Story! For that reason, now's your last chance to vote for lemon pie AND YOU CAN'T VOTE TWICE!**

**Lovino****-** Wait, what? Why lemon pie? Who the hell are you going to force lemon pie on?

**Mitsuki**- It'll be you and Antonio if you don't shut it.

**Lovino**- *shuts up*


	38. THE OTHER EPILOGUE

**So here's the final tally for the lemon pie: 9 said yes, 2 said no, and one said "yes, but only if…"**

…**OK?**

**Because I had dragged a lot of you by the leash A LOT, I decided to make twice as much! Bear in mind that this is the first time that I…made lemon pie, so it might suck a little…like ****bad****.**

**For those of you who didn't want lemon pie and for those of you who are reading it after the "COMPLETED" status and didn't want the lemon **_**(or if you read it and decided that you might as well never read it again)**_**, I still got enough sweetness just for you and a warning. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION IF YOU DON'T WANT LEMON PIE! When the time comes, you're going to see the words "Lemon Pie being distributed". Once there, use Ctrl + F and find "Lemon Pie has been consumed". You'll skip right over it like it wasn't even there ;D**

**Now that everyone's been settled…let's see who's in that pie!**

**/=LOADING…=/**

**/="Dareka no Negai Ga Kanau Koro" by Utada Hikaru=/**

_(find the translation and see how fitting this song is :D)_

**/=THREE YEARS AFTER THE DAY…=/**

"So it's the third anniversary since that day…"

"Yeah…three whole years."

Everyone stared at each other as they gathered at the ocean. The city already had their major celebration, but the guild wanted to celebrate it by themselves. Húdié Mei and Yïngguó Shi was the first to arrive at the ocean as the others slowly walked on the sand, seeing the small sliver of the sun over the horizon.

"The view really is beautiful." Kiku said. "It's nice to know that even after all this time, there are things that never change…"

"Yeah…the sun never changes…" Lukas folded his arms. "So who has the flowers?"

"_I have them."_ Matthew walked forward, holding a bouquet. _"Seyel and I picked them just this morning."_

They watched as Matthew approached the shore holding the round bouquet toward the ocean. He smiled as he felt his knees be submerged by the ocean water before dropping the bouquet in the sea. He stood there in silence and watched as the ocean took their third bouquet out into the depths of the sea. He heard footsteps echoing behind him, and he turned around to see that Seyel had joined him with a sad smile on her face.

"I wonder if Feliciano sees these bouquets?" She asked.

"_I want to believe that, Seyel. He's part of Veneziano, isn't he?"_ Matthew smiled. _"He's watching over us…don't worry about him…he wouldn't want us to be worried."_

She nodded as they both turned around and walked back toward the ocean shore, seeing the sad smiles on the guild's faces. It was only then that he realized that someone was missing. Matthew looked around and tried to count everyone down, concluding what he had concluded.

"_Where's Ludwig?"_

"He wanted to be alone today." Kiku said. "You know how this day affects him…"

"We shouldn't bother him." Arthur repeated. "He deserves his isolation. He is the one most affected by this."

"Oui, it is always the hardest on lovers than family isn't it?" Francis sighed. "Even when they never said the truth out loud…it's like everything was for naught."

"Love is never a waste of time." Elizabeta snapped. "Even when it's only one-sided. It's a feeling that everyone has but most never get in return. In Feliciano's case, it was returned to him…"

"I wonder if they knew before he died…? If they knew how they felt for each other…" Húdié Mei asked. "It would be better than for them to stay forever in the darkness about each other…"

"Feliciano knew. So did Ludwig. They're both fairly intelligent men and most likely found out on their own. Don't worry about that." Magnus grinned. "Hey, how about we have a small party? It'll help the mood a little bit, and besides Feliciano doesn't want us to be depressed at a time like this!"

"As long as it doesn't include drinking, mon cher…"

"Says the guy who'll be chugging the first bottle once we get it open."

**/=+=/**

Ludwig found himself wandering back on the hill overlooking the city. The lights were still flashing over the buildings in celebration for what he had done to save everyone and the mood was mainly happy, but for some reason he felt no joy in this simple day. This was the day that three days ago he had lost him forever. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"_Ludwig…?"_

His eyes darted open. It was **his** voice again. It had to be today. It had to be today that he hears his voice…

"…_are you crying…?"_

He forced himself to be strong. He couldn't cry here…not today. Not anymore.

"_What can I do, Ludwig…? What can I do to help you…?"_

"Feliciano…there's nothing you can do." He found himself saying out loud. "This is me…this is my problem, not yours…"

"_L-Ludwig?"_

"It's been three years since you've left, Feliciano…and here I am mourning as if it was just three hours ago…" He found himself trying to stay strong. "I'm dishonoring your image being like this…I have to move on…"

"_Ludwig…what are you…?"_

"I'm never going to forget you, Feliciano…but I can't keep destroying myself like this." He held the silver cross hidden in his uniform. "Whatever you are…an apparition or a ghost…you can move on now…I don't want you to stay for my sake…"

"…_I…I-I understand…Ludwig…I…"_

He heard the voice lightly sobbing, making Ludwig's heart pain itself even more. He knew that there was one more thing that he had to do, the one thing that was going to end everything and make this all come full circle. He turned around slowly, knowing that once he was fully around the voice was going to vanish forever…

Instead, he saw a sobbing figure a few feet in front of him.

His eyes widened with shock as he quickly threw himself into a standing position. The figure was familiar-looking, with his brown hair that seemed to be longer than last time and his white uniform, but it was the familiar curl off the top of his head that caught his heart still. He slowly approached him, the poor boy too busy sobbing in his hands to notice any difference.

"_I-I was too busy thinking about myself this whole time…I completely forgot how hard…this was for you…"_ His voice was breaking through all the sobs. _"I'm sorry…I-I'm not…going to make the same mistake again…I'll leave you alone now. But…I just want to say one thing before I go…"_

"_**I love you…"**_

He froze as the boy in front of him sobbed harder into his hands, muttering those three words in as many languages as he could remember. After a while, he stopped muttering and stopped crying, dropping his arms. It was then that he saw familiar dead eyes looking away.

"_I'm…sorry…"_

Something just snapped in Ludwig's mind. Whatever it was, it made him throw his arms open and squeeze every single living drop of tears out of the poor boy's body. He yelped in shock and couldn't make a move to reject him _(his hands were thoroughly pinned against Ludwig's chest)_, hearing the sobbing that came from the blond.

"_Feliciano…"_ He sobbed. _"Feliciano…"_

"_No…no Ludwig, don't cry…y-you're going to make me cry too…"_ Feliciano sobbed on his chest. _"Don't cry, Ludwig…please…don't cry…"_

Ludwig tried his best to comply, loosening his grip so that he could see the sparkling golden eyes that were filling up with tears. Slowly he approached his lips, feeling Feliciano squirm towards his, before he finally felt contact. Before he knew it, his tongue was digging itself deeper into the smaller boy's mouth, causing him to shake and gasp for air and hold him even tighter. This occurred for a few minutes before they were forced to separate for air. He looked up and saw the light blush that covered his face, allowing him to touch foreheads.

"…you're still here…" He smiled. "Thank god…"

"_Ludwig…w-what about…everything you said before…?"_ Feliciano's eyes started darting around. _"About you moving on…?"_

"_Feliciano…it's hard to try moving on when you're still alive, right…?"_ He rubbed his cheek. _"How did you…?"_

"…_I don't know…I just remember feeling like I was floating on air and then…I was sleeping."_ Feliciano seemed to refuse making eye contact. _"Every now and then I would wake up and see you…and I found myself calling you so many times…but you would never reply…"_

"_? T-that was you…?"_

"_E-eh?"_ Feliciano froze. _"Y-you heard me…?"_

"_How would I not hear the sadness in your voice? It's one of many things that I remember about you…"_ Ludwig smiled. _"But now…I'm just happy that I don't have to force myself to remember you anymore…"_

He saw the blush on his face get even darker before a small smile crept on his face, his eyes finally able to make contact with his other eyes. Ludwig held his face in his hands, feeling the warmth in his fingertips, before leaning in for another kiss…a softer one this time.

**/=[Lemon pie being distributed]=/**

**/=[WARNING! TOO MUCH LEMON PIE might end up choking out all the blood from your veins! Proceed with caution!]=/**

**/="Reala" by Tales of Destiny 2=/**

No one was home when Ludwig tried leading Feliciano home, so he was forced to take him to his small apartment. He led him to the bathroom for a shower _(god knows what three years without existing does to your hygiene)_ before going into his bedroom to change into his PJs. The shower still echoed from the other side of the hallway as he slowly took of his jacket and shirt, seeing the silver cross that he still wore around his neck.

_I should give this back to Feliciano…this is something I made him…_

He heard the showerhead turn off, and he turned around to see Feliciano walk through the door wearing nothing but a bathrobe. Ludwig turned his head and realized that he had carefully folded his clothes before going into the bathroom _(how he left his underwear in the room while Ludwig was CHANGING, he'll never know)_, and that he was going to retrieve them now.

"Um…" Ludwig blushed, trying not to see the innocent look on Feliciano's face. "D-do you want to go back to your house? I'm sure Lovino is home at this-"

"Is that my cross…?" Feliciano walked up to him and held it. "You kept it this entire time…how sweet. O-oh…"

Feliciano was staring at him, making Ludwig look down. He was staring at the scar that he had given him all those years ago, probably wondering if it still hurt. Without a second thought, he lifted up the string from his cross and transferred it around Feliciano's neck. Halfway through the transfer, he saw him tense and start shaking.

"O-oh!" The curl had gotten caught in the string. "I'm sorry, I wasn't-"

Ludwig lifted up the string from his curl and lowered it, seeing the half-opened eyes of the boy in front of him. He was still holding onto his neck, blushing at the simple touch of the blond. It was then that he remembered how he was this close to him before a long time ago, and how he wanted to do this for a long time…but knew how shameless it was.

He leaned forward and started to passionately kiss his neck, hearing the soft moans from the other man and the grip on his back. He knew that he should stop. He knew that this was something that he probably shouldn't be doing this soon, but…

"_U-um…"_

He paused, backing up a few inches to see the blushing look on Feliciano's face. However, he didn't look rushed or scared as he thought he would be. He looked…embarrassed?

"_T-this is my…first time…"_ He mumbled.

Ludwig stared at the light blush on his face as it got darker from embarrassment. After a few minutes, he lightly kissed his forehead, making him shudder in startlement. It made him all the cuter, really.

"_Don't worry…I'll be gentle…"_

Feliciano blushed as Ludwig lightly kissed him deeply. Before they knew it they had collapsed on the bed, digging their tongues deeper into each other's mouth. Ludwig felt a strange rush through his body, something that led him to untie the bathrobe around Feliciano's waist. They parted to take deep breaths, seeing Feliciano's face now covered a deep scarlet, his face begging for more. Ludwig slowly unzipped and pushed down his pants as he kissed him deeper and deeper into the younger boy's mouth, feeling the warmth of his lips.

He slowly started kissing his body down, hearing Feliciano squirm and moan under his sensitive touch. Has he felt this? Touched this…loved this…gave him everything that Ludwig had kept deep inside just to keep himself from going insane? For three years he would've been blessed to hear his voice in the depths of the night. Now, for this one night, he could relish in everything that was Feliciano: his voice, his warmth, his smell, his touch…

"…_are you ready, Feli…?"_ Ludwig looked deep into his golden eyes. _"We can stop whenever you need to-"_

Feliciano stopped him with a light kiss to his scar, his blush now sinking into his skin. He was more than ready, and it was showing on his face. Ludwig hesitated before his hands lightly skimmed his arched back, feeling his body tremble underneath his fingers. Hopefully, this won't hurt him…

The brunette cringed as he slowly pushed into his body, feeling the warmth and tightness around his member. Ludwig found himself squeezing his eyes shut, holding every single bit of restraint just to not pound in there. Feliciano took it with a yelp and a long moan, turning his head while squeezing the bed sheets for dear life. He could see the sweat dropping down his brow.

"_Are you all right…? Does it hurt?"_

Feliciano was still cringing, his breath ragged and yet soothing to his ears. Ludwig leaned in and started kissing his neck, trying his best not to move and possibly hurt him. Feliciano's grip on the sheets tightened as more ragged breaths escaped his lips. _God dammit, he was getting harder…_

"…_Feliciano…?"_

"…_ah…Lud…"_ He took a deep breath, feeling Ludwig's stomach move with his chest. _"D-don't worry…it doesn't hurt anymore…but thank you for worrying…"_

"_Feliciano…"_

"_Ah…god, I need you…s-stop stalling! Move…please!"_

He didn't have to say that twice. Ludwig lightly kissed him as he started to move, feeling Feliciano shift underneath him. He gasped with each thrust, holding Ludwig's back and his legs started squeezing his hips. His mind had basically cleared at this point, filling up with nothing more than the sound of skin rubbing together and being completely cocooned by the man he loves.

The blond man's hips started moving faster, getting deeper and deeper into his body. There was even one thrust that made Feliciano's back arch and moan out his name. The sound of his pleasure was more than enough to send Ludwig over the edge. After he finished, he found himself in a panic. He wanted Feliciano to finish first. So he did the next best thing: he lowered his hand down and tried his best to give him the best hand job he could ever have.

Feliciano's body arched up yet again as he came with a cry, his back supported by Ludwig's arm. After a few minutes and a shudder, the both of them collapsed on the bed. The blond looked up from lying down on his chest and saw Feliciano look back down to him with a light smile on his face. He rolled onto his side and noticed that Feliciano was shivering.

"_Feliciano…?"_ He blinked. _"I-is something wrong?"_

"…_it's cold…"_

He had to hold his breath not to laugh out loud as he lifted the covers over him to just below the shoulders. They spent the next few minutes staring at each other: Ludwig slowly caressing Feliciano's cheek and seeing those golden eyes sparkle with a smile that seemed to make everything feel better. Wasn't this the same Feliciano he met three years ago, the fragile boy who was scared about what was to come and yet allowed himself to die…?

"_I can't believe you're alive…"_ Ludwig whispered. _"You've been gone for so long…"_

"_I didn't want to leave, Ludwig…"_ Feliciano crawled closer to him. _"I willed with every cell in my body to come back…"_

"_And it worked…"_

"_It worked…"_

Feliciano looked up from Ludwig's light hug and couldn't help but push a light kiss on his lips. He quickly returned it, holding the back of his head with a small smile on his lips. Suddenly, Ludwig was taken aback when he stood up and pushed the blond on his back. He straddled him with his hips with that same smile.

"_You showed me three years of love in one small act…"_ He smiled. _"Let me show you mine."_

Feliciano leaned in and dug his tongue into the blond's mouth. Ludwig quickly got his mind back into the situation as he lightly held Feliciano's hips over his member and sat up, allowing more skin contact. He saw the brunette bite his lip as he slowly lowered himself on top of his, going deeper until the inside of his thighs touched his hips. He moaned and leaned upward, sweat dropping down his brow, allowing Ludwig to kiss his neck.

"…_it's in…"_

Feliciano clung onto his shoulders as he began to thrust, feeling his breath going down his back. He felt his hand lightly pull on his curl, sending more shivers down his spine. His grip tightened on him as he came yet again, mellowing out and collapsing on his shoulders. Ludwig held him close, feeling his breath on his neck.

"…_are you all right…?"_

"_Ve~~~~~I'm tired…"_

"_That's what you get for doing it twice…"_ He lowered Feliciano on the bed. _"You're staying the night here."_

All Feliciano had to do was do one of his trademark smiles for Ludwig to realize something: **THAT'S WHAT HE WAS ****PLANNING ON **_**THIS ENTIRE TIME?**_ Well, that was creative. Ludwig just shook his head as he lied down on the bed, feeling Feliciano crawl closer to him and fall asleep on his shoulder. All he had to do was smile back.

"…welcome home."

**/=[Lemon pie has been consumed]=/**

**/=[Who's still alive?]=/**

**MEANWHILE… **_**(rewind it a few hours back)**_

**/="Skip" by Pandora Hearts=/**

"This is a good party…"

"Yeah, I know!"

Matthew and Yïngguó Shi just sat there as they saw Antonio, Francis and Gilbert hanging out in the corner drunk off their minds and clearly having fun trying to get everyone else to drink as well. They spent their time hanging out with Toris making sure that they don't get into the brink of drunkenness.

"_These people are creeping me out…"_ Matthew mumbled.

"Well, at least everyone isn't getting drunk." Yïngguó Shi looked around. "It's mostly everyone."

"_That's the worst part…I mean, Magnus and Arthur already started stripping their clothes off…"_ Matthew sighed. _"W-what could possibly get any worse…?"_

"_**CHIGGIIIIIIII!**__**"**_

Everyone turned their heads to see that Lovino had literally jumped up from his seat. He was screaming something and _my god_, his hair curl went STRAIGHT UP! After a few minutes, the curl receded back in on itself and he started panting as if he had done extraneous work. Alfred had summed up everyone's thought process quite well.

"The hell happened to you?"

"_**I DON'T KNOW, DON'T FREAKIN' ASK!"**_

"Awww…you're so cute when you're flustered, Lovi-kun!"

"_**It's LOVINO, you **__**DRUNKEN BASTARD!**__**"**_

"…this…is going to be a long night."

**/=[OMAKE]=/**

**/="A Brighter Day" by Trauma Team=/**

The next day had everyone having massive hangovers and yet trying to get into work. It was entertaining to the sober people nonetheless _(especially Kiku)_, who ended up looking around and seeing Ludwig walking toward the building rubbing his eyes and staring at the hung-over people around him.

"Ludwig." He said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you." He answered. "What happened to you guys?"

"Well, Magnus decided that we should have a small party…" Kiku turned to them. "You can see what happened afterwards."

"Yeah…I can see that." Ludwig sighed. "I think I preferred staying away from all of you yesterday."

"Wish I was there with you."

Ludwig cleared his throat and sighed, obviously not thinking the same thing. It was then that they realized that someone was walking toward them. They all looked up _(even the hung-over ones)_ and saw a young man walking toward them, in a familiar white outfit and semi-long hair. The wind started to blow as he got closer, familiar gold eyes shining toward them. Everyone stared in shock, the figure so familiar…

And then the wind blew too hard.

Which blew him over and landed on his side.

And then he started crying.

"Oi! Fratello, is that-?"

Lovino ran toward him in shock, staring at Feliciano as he straightened himself out and tried to clean himself off. They looked in each other's eyes, one surprised that the other one was standing right in front of him. Before they knew it, they started to tear up and hug each other.

"_Hello, fratello…"_ Feliciano smiled. _"It's nice to see you again…"_

"Dammit, you bastard…for leaving us for three years!" Lovino screamed at him with tears in his eyes. _**"What the hell were you doing this entire time!"**_

"I…just wanted to come back. It took me three years to do so, but…" Feliciano chuckled. "I'm back now."

"Wait…if you're back…" Lovino blinked. "Hey, what about…?"

"Veneziano isn't with me, Lovino. He's alive, but he's back where he was before…"

"So it's just you now…"

"Yeah, it's just me…" He smiled. "And I'm back."

Lovino started crying even more as the other guild members started to hug him tightly and cheered of him coming back. After a few minutes, Feliciano looked over everyone's shoulders and saw a small smile on Ludwig's face. He smiled back at him with even more tears in his eyes.

_I'm back…I'm back home._

**/=THE END=/**

**Would you believe that this is the first time that I wrote lemon? So yeah, I'm not surprised if you people think it sucks.**

**So yeah, this is the real end. Hope you guys are happy, especially if you jumped the lemon pie! This is Mitsuki Horenake, and I'll see you next time!**


End file.
